Locals angered by judges’ decision

Let’s be real – according to punching statistics and the opinions of virtually every analyst in the country, Manny Pacquiao was robbed two weekends ago when he lost a split decision to new champion Timothy Bradley.

Local fighters agree.

This week, they shared their thoughts on the sport’s most controversial decision in recent memory.

With theories ranging from corruption to downright conspiracy, fighters said the controversial decision marked a low point in the sport that is already becoming well-known for its bad publicity.

“There’s no way that anyone who knows anything about boxing can dispute that Manny Pacquiao won that right,” local fighter Martin Verdin said. “I hate to say it like this, but it’s becoming bad for the sport. MMA is taking over right now because with boxing, no one knows what the hell they are trying to do anymore.”

“It’s ridiculous,” Grand Bois boxer Justin Verdin agreed. “I thought Pacquiao won 11 rounds to one. I’ve been messing around with boxing my whole life and it was the worst call I’ve ever seen. It really was that bad.

“I’m a big Pacquiao fan, so I understand that when you like someone in the ring, you see it a little bit differently. But I rewatched the fight three or four times and I tried to envision it from Bradley’s perspective. Even doing that, I can only say he won three rounds. And I’m choking on my words to even give him that many. It was just terrible.”

Pretty much everyone agrees the decision was unjust.

The theories regarding why is where the fun starts.

Virtually every scenario laid out revolves around incarcerated champion Floyd Mayweather – the only fighter considered to be on Pacquiao’s level in their weight division.

Martin Verdin said he believes Mayweather is scared of Pacquiao and is ducking a mega-fight with him out of fear it would blemish his perfect record.

The 36-year-old local fighter, who has 17 wins in 33 career professional bouts, added that he believes Pacquiao’s promoter, Top Rank, gave him a loss in an effort to sort-of coax Mayweather into the bout.

“This is going to give Mayweather confidence,” Martin Verdin said. “I think this will make it more likely that we’re going to see that fight. I think Mayweather is going to come out of jail and be like, ‘Look, this bum Pacquiao can’t even beat Bradley. Now’s the right time to take the fight and show the world I’m the best.’”

Justin Verdin and Larose fighter Casey Adams disagree.

They believe that Pacquiao’s loss will virtually end all hope of the much-anticipated super fight ever taking place.

“It makes it so much more unlikely,” Justin Verdin said. “He already was ducking him, saying it was an unfair money split and saying he wanted more than 50/50 because he was a bigger draw and this and that. My thing is, if you want to be the best, you need to shut up and fight the best, right? Now that Pacquiao has an extra loss, Floyd’s going to say he doesn’t need the fight anymore.”

Mayweather aside, others see money as a large motivator for the alleged misdealings.

Justin Verdin said he believes the judges intentionally fixed the fight to cash in on Bradley, who was a 4-to-1 underdog in most Las Vegas sportsbooks.

HBO analysts warned fans before the fight started that the judges scoring the bout were a group that weren’t exactly flawless.

Analyst Harold Lederman said before the bout, “In an Olympic year, this isn’t exactly the Dream Team of judges.”

“They warned us before the fight,” Justin Verdin said. “And then sure enough, at the end of the fight, it ended up being decided by a bad call. I think those judges got together and made themselves a lot of money off of Bradley. What else could it be? Gambling is a big key to boxing.”

Martin Verdin wouldn’t go that far, but he said he believes it was done to set up a rematch between the two in November.

“The rematch is going to be pretty big now, I guess,” Martin Verdin said. “I guess you can say that’s going to be something that’ll make a lot of people a lot of money.”

But Justin Verdin disagreed and said he “wouldn’t spend another dime,” to watch the two fight.

“I’m not ordering that fight. To me, I hope Pacquiao doesn’t take that fight,” he said. “I don’t think people will be looking forward to it because Bradley was nowhere near on Pacquiao’s level. That’s not even a good rematch for Manny regardless of whether he won or lost the first go-round.”

No matter what theory one subscribes to, the reality, fighters say, is that the controversy is further proof of the sport’s decline.

The Verdins say the biggest factor for that is MMA, which is able to be produced live for cheaper than boxing.

“Fans can’t tell the difference between amateur and professionals in the MMA, so promoters can make a lot more money by not paying the fighters,” Martin Verdin said. “In boxing, amateurs have the head gear and the shirts on, so you can see pretty obviously that it’s not the same. In MMA, you can sort-of trick the fans. They don’t know the difference. And if they are there to see people get hurt, then they get what they were looking for.”

As far as how the sport can save itself?

No one seems to know the answer to that.

“It’s sad man,” Justin Verdin said. “I don’t really know how it can be fixed. It almost seems like we’re too far down the road to go back now. It sometimes almost seems like it’s too late.

“We need more gyms locally to teach kids at a young age how to do it the right way. But outside of that, I really don’t have the answer to that, man. I wish I did.”