By Jody Kohn
As boxing continues to shrink from public consciousness, it seems to only stick its head out when something negative happens. From failed drug tests, to doctored gloves, to fights that never get made, the general public only talks about boxing when it does something to make itself look terrible. Once again, the ugly side of boxing showed itself Saturday night with the disgrace that was the decision in the Manny Pacquiao-Tim Bradley fight.
JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images
Poor decisions have always been part of the sport. However, they are rarely this atrocious and rarely this high profile. In a sport that has just two truly marquee, household names, Manny Pacquiao was the victim of one of the worst decisions in memory, losing a split decision in a fight most people only saw him losing at most four rounds. Although it may be poetic justice for the Marquez fight, one in which many feel he was gifted a decision, that only highlights the huge problem plaguing the sport.
Baseball, basketball and football all have clear winners. There is a score which determines the result. Sure, the final score may be influenced by a poor call, but we still know what the criteria is to win the game. In boxing, three people determine the outcome, and no matter what may be obvious to the rest, the final result is in their hands. So while 16,000 people in the arena may have seen a clear victory for Pacquiao, it just took two clueless people at ringside to give the decision to Bradley.
Results like this feed the belief by many that the boxing is corrupt. As fans turn in droves from the sport, boxing only reinforces their decision to turn away. Why should they devote their time and money only to have their intelligence insulted by self serving promoters and sanctioning bodies that have nobody to answer to? The Nevada State Athletic Commission is the most powerful commission in boxing. It’s also likely the worst. They should be held accountable for events like those that happened Saturday, but they will likely just turn up their nose and act like they know what they are doing.
Then we have Bob Arum, the man as responsible for boxing’s fall from grace as anyone. This wretched man has corrupted the sport, deliberately sabotaging fights that should have been made all in an effort to line his own pockets and keep title belts in his control. While he may have cried foul at this result, he couldn’t help but throw in one comment that showed just what a cancer he is to the sport.
“I’m going to make a lot of money on the rematch, but this was outrageous,” he was quoted as saying after the fight.
Great Bob. Thanks for letting us know that no matter what happened, YOU will come out of it alright. YOU will still be banking off this. The sport gets a black eye, but Bob Arum, as usual comes out of it smelling like roses. And that in a nutshell is the problem with boxing. Promoters are still getting paid and athletic commissions don’t have to answer to anybody.
Until boxing does something to correct its problems, more than likely it will continue to diminish in popularity. Nobody wants to support a sport when they feel like that same sport is playing them for a fool. Limiting the power of promoters, limiting the amount of organizations handing out belts, and somehow getting PED’s and horrendous scoring under control are all measures that need to be taken before boxing can begin to regain the popularity it once had. It needs people who are responsible for bettering the sport and not just lining their own pockets. Saturday night boxing died just a little more.
