HANGTIME
By Neil Bravo
It was one of those decisions that could trigger a
revolution. A war even. Or an impeachment.
In boxing, however, no matter how unpopular the
decision it will stay that way.
I have yet to know of a decision that was reversed
in boxing of late. The last one was the Joey Giardello-Billy Graham
middleweight fight in the 50s which went down in boxing history as the
“Reversed Reversal.” Graham was given the decision, later reversed in favour of
Giardello, and then reversed again some time later in favour of Graham.
There are no appeals either. Not impeachment too.
Sorry, but what Filipinos can do to a Chief Justice
they cannot do to a boxing judge.
I feel sorry for the 188 colleagues of Manny
Pacquiao in Congress. They cannot do otherwise to two boxing judges whose
decision will have to be part of this nation’s nightmare.
The judges with questionable scorecards are Duane
Ford and Cynthia J. Ross (or CJ Ross). Both are Americans. Both from the
gambling capital of Nevada.
If you suspect, there is a boxing underworld still
existing to this day, and Ford and Ross are part of a conspiracy, that is your
speculation. We will not dig on that. But perhaps, someone forgot to think that
Manny is fighting an American this time, in America, and in Nevada in
particular. There is not what you call a neutral judge—because that, in
essence, is not a rigid rule in Nevada.
So Manny walked into a fight on Sunday thinking he
will walk away a winner once more. In fact, Nike already produced a signature
shirt for him with the imprint—Victory 55. That victory never came. He got
stuck at 54.
After 12 rounds, he said he never bothered to
listen. He said he liked what he did. Or so he thought. Ford and Ross did not
like what they saw. And gave the fight to Bradley, who they thought was the
fight’s aggressor.
Manny forgot that he was fighting in Nevada. In
Nevada, you got to be the aggressor to win.
From an ordinary eye, Manny won the fight. Fair and
square. He hit Bradley more tellingly. He did what a Manny Pacquiao does on a
fight. Easily. Ordinarily.
On an ordinary day, you judge a fight by the way the
fighters performed against each other.
In this fight, Duane Ford and CJ Ross judged it the
way they knew Manny Pacquiao.
Duane Ford has been a jude in five of Manny’s fights
since 2006. He was a judge in the 2006 Morales fight won by Pacquiao in 3
rounds and the 2009 Miguel Cotto fight won also by Pacquiao in 12. His record
shows a consistency in fights that lasted the distance. He scored in favour of
Manny (115-112) in the controversial second fight with Marquez where another
judge in the Bradley fight—Jerry Roth—scored in favour of arquez (115-112).
Ford scored for Manny in the Joshua Clottey fight
more convincingly 120-108 where two other judges—Levi Martinez and Nelson
Vazquez scored a closer 119-109.
Last year, Ford was again the judge in Manny’s fight
against Shane Mosely where he once again scored the more convincing scorecard
(120-107) while Dave Moretti scored 120-108 and Glen Trowbridge had it 119-108.
The other controversial judge, CJ Ross, was in
Manny’s fights in only two occasions prior to Sunday. Both fights ended with
Manny pummeling David Diaz via TKO in the 9th round and Ricky Hatton
in 2 rounds.
Taken both records together, these two judges had
Manny a notch higher in their standards. Naturally, they went to MGM Grand on
Sunday with the mindset that Manny will destroy Bradley.
They did not see a ‘real’ Manny on Sunday. They saw
a fighter who had lost a fastball. Lost step in a dance beat. Had nothing close
to the warrior they saw in the fights where Manny captured global
adoration—Diaz, Dela Hoya, Hatton, Cotto.
I must admit, since the fight against Mosely and
Marquez, Manny has not been the warrior that he was. He seemed to have lost
hunger. Boxing is hunger games in real life. On Sunday, Manny was a diplomat,
preacher, gentleman.
He was fighting like a politician.
He was fighting good. Not rough, not ugly, not
nasty.
Ford and Ross are electorates not within Manny’s
constituency. They were asking more from Manny. They expected to see the
warrior in him. Not the diplomat, preacher, gentleman. These judges were
schooled and trained to see a fight, not a display of statesmanship or
charismatic work.
I admire Manny’s transformation as a boxer who will
transcend from his generation. He is a fighter of a different genre. Far from
the flamboyance of a Floyd Mayweather. Far from a beastly Mike Tyson.
After the fight, Manny was an image of a winner. Not
a loser. He was what you call in beauty business as flawless. He did his
rituals after the fight. Looked up in prayer, and hugged his trainer in
self-assurance. Normally, it’s the trainer who comforts a defeated boxer. In
Manny’s case, he comforted his team like he was saying “we have done our job.”
He was gracious in defeat. You could not ask for
more from a champ.
He loved this sport. In the run up to the fight,
Manny was seen wearing a shirt that reads: Fight for a better world. At the
back of my mind, I remember Michael Jackson tell Paul McCartney in a song, “I’m
a lover, not a fighter.”
Yes, Manny Pacquiao is a lover. A fighter no more.
