I know we're all crazy with the Olympics but I just finally watched the Pacquioa vs Bradley fight. (spoiler thoughts)
Posted by
Mel Profit (aka mel profit)
Aug 4 '12, 09:22
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There is no way Bradley won the fight. Manny won the first 8 rounds easily. He probably won the 9th. Bradley won the 10th. The 11th and 12th could have gone either way.
First the bad stuff for Pac in general. 8 years ago Bradley would have been carried out on a board with his neck in a brace. Bradley never moved his head until later in the round. Fighters who do that against Manny usually get carried out of the ring and contemplate retirement shortly thereafter (Hatton).
Manny of 5 years ago would have at least knocked him out within 6 rounds.
Manny's balance was way off the first few rounds and his punches were not nearly on target. He also took the first 2 mins of every round off then decided to step up in the last 60secs. He also doesn't fight nearly as angry. It used to be that when he'd get hit he would come at you like a force of nature. He was dangerous. Now, he still tries to muster a counter attack but it's not nearly as devastating. I'm not sure if all of this is diminishing skill or just trying to do enough to win but this fight was not nearly his best.
However, Bradley didn't win the fight. He kept admitting that he needed to go back and "watch the tape to see if I won".
The presumption in boxing is that you have to overwhelmingly beat the superior fighter given that it's a sport that relies on 3 judges. The champion has a presumption of superiority which you must overcome. Ironically, this is likely why Manny "won" his last fight against Marquez who probably should have actually won. Bradley did absolutely nothing to show that he was better than Manny's worst. It was a disgrace to the sport.
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