The Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley results have been creating a firestorm since they were announced on Saturday night. “Pacquiao vs. Bradley results” have been scorching as Google’s #1 trending search, while after the bout, trending Twitter topics across the globe ranged included tags such as “#RIPBoxing”. There will be much said on the bout in the coming days and weeks – too much, in all likelihood – but right here we offer our quick-hitting post-fight takeaways to give our thoughts on the bout itself, the aftermath, the controversy and more. Take a look.
—-> View our complete Pacquiao vs. Bradley results blog to see how it all went down live, step by step, and also check out our complete collection of Pacquiao-Bradley pictures
Pacquiao-Bradley Pictures from Fight Night
In addition to pictures from the fight, we also have a picture of the punch stats from the night, and the post fight press conference, where Bradley arrived in a wheel chair before going to the hospital
Quickfire Takeaways from the controversial Pacquiao vs. Bradley results
- The Rematch “Conspiracy”: Before the fight, Timothy Bradley was so confident he would win that he announced a rematch for November, and presented fight posters and tickers for Bradley vs. Pacquiao 2. Now that seems like it will come to fruition. Of course, usually in boxing, controversial decisions go for the money fighters, not against them. It’s hard to envision there being anything fishy here in terms of a fix — it’s just bad scoring by the judges.
- What it Means for Mayweather: Somewhere in a small 7×10 foot jail cell in Las Vegas, Floyd Mayweather either laughed or cried when he saw the results. As was speculated prior to the fight, a Pacquiao loss could cause major issues for a potential dream fight against Mayweather. For one thing, Mayweather would now demand, and be justified in doing so, more negotiating control and a higher portion of the money. On the other hand, for Mayweather critics thinking he was scared of taking the fight – not me – they may think he’ll pounce on the opportunity now that he sees Pacquiao can be beaten. Finally, for the fans, the fight surely has lost some of its luster, which affects the event and how much money there would be to go around to begin with.
- Pacquiao Gracious in Defeat: One of the reasons that boxing fans across the world love Pacquiao is his attitude and his happy personality. Well, he was extremely gracious after the fight, congratulating and giving credit to Timothy Bradley, despite the fact that he felt that he should have won the fight. There was no whining or complaining, just smiles and happiness. It’s impressive.
- Does Bradley Even Think he Won?: Bradley seemed unsure about the decision himself, and acknowledged that it’s not what people thought, judging by the crowd’s reaction. He said he’d go home and watch the tapes and judge for himself. Ultimately, you can’t blame Bradley either way. He didn’t score the fight. And even if you think he deserved to lose clearly, he showed a ton of toughness, heart and grit in there, along with an iron chin, and you have to credit him for that.
- Bradley’s Wheelchair: Bradley showed up to the post-fight press conference in a wheel chair, citing injuries to both of his ankles, including potentially a broken ankle. It certainly didn’t help his cause to be viewed as the rightful winner, however, it wasn’t from damage that Pacquiao inflicted.
- The Scoring and the Controversy: I scored the fight live 117-111 for Pacquiao on ProBoxing-Fans.com. I almost gave Bradley the 11th, which would have made it 116-112 for Pacquiao. Clearly, I felt he deserved to win the match. A lot of the rounds were close though, and there were also a few rounds that Pacquiao took off towards the end of the fight – something which was reminiscent to me of the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad fight, in a way. If Pacquiao had forced the issue in rounds 10-12, he would have won on all three scorecards. Bradley was the aggressor for much of the fight, and even though the punch stats clearly show Pacquiao should have won (see above picture), that can affect a judge’s view of a fight. Ultimately, I don’t think this is the biggest robbery of the year – Tavoris Cloud/Gabriel Campillo and Brandon Rios/Richard Abril still simply smell worse, to me. However, the problem of bad judging in boxing is at historically awful levels. Something needs to be changed, and quickly.
- Pacquiao on the Wrong End: Many fans feel that Pacquiao did not deserve to win either the 2nd or 3rd fights against Juan Manuel Marquez. He got the nod in both cases, however. Ultimately, when you’re in the spotlight for as long as Pacquiao has been, some fights will go your way, and some won’t. Hopefully at the end of a career those even out for you, and you get a chance to avenge the unjust defeats in the ring.
- “Boxing is Dead!”: Let the boxing is dead stories commence. I’m sure they already have, and as mentioned up front, “RIPBoxing” was a global trending topic on Twitter after the results came in. Boxing isn’t dead. This decision doesn’t kill it. And the same people who won’t watch boxing again because of a decision like this, are the ones who only tune in for the Pacquiao fights to begin with.
- What’s next for Bradley?: The Pacquiao vs. Bradley rematch is certainly likely to happen, but it’s not guaranteed as of yet. What’s next for this undefeated, two-division champion? Does he have a fight at welterweight against Amir Khan? (And how good does his decision not to fight Khan last summer look now?) Does he land a big match against Floyd Mayweather? Does he keep on winning until he becomes pound for pound champion? Time will tell, of course, he told us in a one-on-one interview that his master plan is to defeat Pacquiao twice, then Mayweather twice, and then retire. Well, he’s on his way…
