Pacquiao vs. Bradley: Boxing Only Real Victim in Unfathomable Decision

Just when you think boxing couldn't possibly outdo itself in terms of destroying its credibility, it does. With the eyes of the sporting world fixed on Manny Pacquiao taking on Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas, NV boxing produced another result that will leave the majority of fans scratching their heads to find out how they arrived at this point. 

By virtue of a split-decision victory, Timothy Bradley is the new WBO welterweight champion, but he doesn't deserve to be. 

When the decision was announced, the crowd fell in stunned silence. Bradley's own corner didn't even looked convinced that he had won the fight. 

The silence quickly turned to boos as the amazing decision sunk in the heads' of the spectators. Given that Pacman dominated the fight from start to end, and he was the big-money fighter in this bout, there was never any doubt that he would score the unanimous decision. 

ESPN's boxing analyst Dan Rafael had the fight scored like this:

"

It's over. We'll go to the card. I haveit for Manny, 119-109. He looked good. #PacBradley #boxing

— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) June 10, 2012"

That scorecard is not out of line either. There are some that would have it even more lopsided. Those people were not being paid to be official judges for the fight, though. 

Those three individuals saw the fight much differently, and the way they saw it is only going to cast the sport of boxing into a more dubious light. This is a sport that has to struggle for the perception of credibility, and a decision that so many disagree with in a bout this high profile is a huge blow to those efforts.