Arum: Brisbane crowd may have swayed judges
MANILA – The last time that Manny Pacquiao was on the wrong end of a controversial decision, Top Rank chief executive Bob Arum did all he could to prove that the "Pacman" was robbed of his rightful victory.
This time around, the veteran promoter is simply shrugging his shoulders and commending the young fighter who stunned the iconic Filipino fighter.
"Did Manny win the fight?" Arum asked rhetorically after Pacquiao lost a hugely questionable decision to 29-year-old Australian Jeff Horn, who was mostly unknown heading into Sunday's fight at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.
"Maybe," he said. "But it was a close fight, and a close fight can go either way."
Arum's reaction was a complete opposite to how he approached Pacquiao's equally controversial loss to Timothy Bradley Jr. in April 2012, when the American won a split decision over the Filipino star. At the time, Arum said he was "ashamed" of the sport; the World Boxing Organization, which sanctioned the fight, went on to order a review of the bout and later declared that Pacquiao should have won.
This time around, however, Arum has an explanation ready for how Horn came away with a 117-111, 115-113, 115-113 victory.
"In a close fight, when you're fighting before 51,000 fans, of which maybe there are 1,500 Filipinos and the rest are Australian… the judges are human," he said. "The people scream when the opponent lands a punch, and they're quiet when Manny lands a punch."
Source: http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/07/02/17/arum-brisbane-crowd-may-have-swayed-judges
This time around, the veteran promoter is simply shrugging his shoulders and commending the young fighter who stunned the iconic Filipino fighter.
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| Bob Arum. |
"Maybe," he said. "But it was a close fight, and a close fight can go either way."
Arum's reaction was a complete opposite to how he approached Pacquiao's equally controversial loss to Timothy Bradley Jr. in April 2012, when the American won a split decision over the Filipino star. At the time, Arum said he was "ashamed" of the sport; the World Boxing Organization, which sanctioned the fight, went on to order a review of the bout and later declared that Pacquiao should have won.
This time around, however, Arum has an explanation ready for how Horn came away with a 117-111, 115-113, 115-113 victory.
"In a close fight, when you're fighting before 51,000 fans, of which maybe there are 1,500 Filipinos and the rest are Australian… the judges are human," he said. "The people scream when the opponent lands a punch, and they're quiet when Manny lands a punch."
Source: http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/07/02/17/arum-brisbane-crowd-may-have-swayed-judges
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