WBO to Review Pacquiao-Bradley Controversial Fight

WBO to Review Pacquiao-Bradley Controversial Fight

Manny Pacquiao lost his belt Timothy Bradley on Saturday in a match most experts, though not all, felt he was cheated. Judge Jerry Roth scored it 115-113 for Pacquiao, but was overruled by judges C.J. Ross and Duane Ford, who each had it 115-113 in favor of Bradley.

Outraged Pacquiao fans petitioned Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval to overturn the result.

World Boxing Organization announced on Wednesday it would review the verdict with a panel of five international judges.

The WBO’s decision to examine the outcome of the welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand Garden comes on the prompting of promoter Bob Arum on Sunday calling for an investigation by Nevada attorney general Catherine Cortez Masto.

Long-time commission member Skip Avansino declined to say how he scored the fight. He also said he did not know if Cortez Masto would order an investigation but said he believed in transparency and would cooperate fully with whatever she asked of his office.

He said he had asked Kizer to watch video of the fight with the judges.  Kizer said he was awaiting receipt of a DVD so he could do so.

Bob Arum wants the investigation to be done largely to clear his own name. After the fight, he went to great lengths to point out he did not accuse the judges of corruption.

Though, in a telephone call to Yahoo! Sports on Sunday, he demanded the investigation. This was the first major fight of the social media age to end in a decision the public overwhelmingly disagreed with.  Arum was talking of abuse and the judges were accused, without any evidence, of tampering with the outcome.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Friday June 15 2012, 2:21 AM EST. Ref: Google. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0