Was Pacquiao cheated by Mayweather?
After six long years, the much-hyped battle between undefeated American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Filipino fighter Manny Pacquiao finally took place Sunday morning (Manila time). After finishing the scheduled twelve rounds, Mayweather was proclaimed the winner via unanimous decision, 118-110, 116-112, and 116-112.
Filipinos all over the world were understandably disappointed with the fight’s outcome. Some argued that since Pacquiao is the more aggressive fighter, he should have been declared the winner. It is a view shared by some local boxing analysts and many casual fans.
Fueling this perception further is a post made by Facebook user Chris Cooke on his account late Sunday evening. He uploaded a photo of the actual scorecard used by the fight’s three judges: Glenn Feldman, Burt Clemens, and Dave Moretti.
Cooke questioned why Mayweather was declared the winner when the score sheet showed that the judges consistently gave higher points to the fighter on the red corner, which happens to be Pacquiao. His uploaded photo has now been shared over 400,000 times. (The unedited version of the photo first appeared on the website of the British newspaper The Daily Mail.)
Nevertheless, fight statistics as tallied by the Compubox showed that indeed, Mayweather dominated the fight:
Total punches landed/thrown: Mayweather, 148/435 (34%)/Pacquiao, 81/429 (19%)
Jabs thrown/landed: Mayweather, 67/267 (25%)/Pacquiao, 18/193 (9%)
Power punches thrown/landed: Mayweather, 81/168 (48%)/Pacquiao, 63/236 (27%)
How do we connect the dots, then? It is a simple clerical mistake, according to Yahoo Philippines sports columnist Carlo Pamintuan. “The one who tallied the score simply made a mistake because Mayweather was supposed to be in the red corner. The guy did something that felt automatic for him. I’m sure all boxing guys would agree,” he said, adding that the camera placement in the MGM Grand Garden Arena forced Mayweather to be in the blue corner instead..
Pamintuan also challenged the logic behind “the-wrong-winner-was-declared” theory. “Pacquiao clobbered Mayweather in the fourth round. It was by far his best round. Saying that the scores were reversed is equal to saying Floyd won the fourth round which absolutely makes no sense,” he said, reiterating that the judges were not stupid not to know who Pacquiao and Mayweather were.
“If you think a 118-110 card for Mayweather is too wide, a 118-110 score for Pacquiao is beyond explanation,” he noted. The Filipino Scribe obtained the sports journalist’s permission to use his comments for this post.
Manny fought bravely with allegedly an injured shoulder. But he was defeated. IMO, there’s no shame in losing a decision to the best boxer of this generation. Manny represented the Philippines well, as he always does. Mayweather was simply the better boxer last night.
“Like” The Filipino Scribe on Facebook!
About Author
Pacman was not cheated but Mayweather used his dirty tricks…He’s wise…but alarming..