Pacquiao vs. Bradley Winner: Bradley Win Shows Boxing Puts Money Above Integrity

You are in denial if you don't think that evil was afoot at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday night when Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley was ruled the split-decision winner over Manny Pacquiao, 113-115, 115-113, 115-113.

This senseless, illogical, diabolical ruling reeks of conspiracy, collusion and all else horrible in the world of sports. Even noted boxing trainer and commentator Teddy Atlas thinks so:

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Teddy Atlas on @SportsCenter on Pacquiao loss "Boxing is a corrupt sport" #Bradley #Pacquiao

— Linda Cohn (@lindacohn) June 10, 2012"

Isn't it a coincidence that Bradley and Pacquiao were already discussing a rematch before the fight even started? According to ESPN, Bradley said this regarding a rematch with Pacquiao:

"

I would love to do a rematch with Pacquiao after winning this fight. Let's do it. Nov. 10. 

Because there is a rematch clause in our fight contract, I will have to beat Manny Pacquiao again in November.

"

Yes, fighters typically have such rematch clauses in their contracts, but this is too much of a coincidence. Even more coincidental is the fact that promoter Bob Arum represents both of the fighters. We all know Arum loves to make money, and it's clear that a Bradley victory was in his best financial interest.

He said he's "never been as ashamed of the sport of boxing as I am tonight" about the decision, as per the Associated Press, but it's hard to buy that he thinks this is just boxing failing because it's imperfect. It's even harder to believe that he's surprised at the specious outcome, though one has to admit that if the fight was fixed, it could have been done by any number of parties, so we can't assume any one person is to blame.

In any case, the loss has much less of an effect on Pacquiao's reputation than a loss by Bradley would have had on his. Pacman is still an extremely marketable boxer, and Arum will have no problem touting the Filipino star's skills and selling him in the future. But if Bradley lost, it wouldn't be hard to envision a tailspin for the previously undefeated fighter.

The scorecard was simply botched tonight. Far and away worse than Pacquiao's controversial decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in November. This might have been a case of the boxing commission not wanting to give Pacquiao another debatable victory, but to so clearly rob him of a win was just wrong.

This isn't to say that everyone involved in the business aspect of boxing is this way, but it just seems the people in charge are more worried about making money than preserving the integrity of the sport. This decision is equivalent to an MLB umpire making a blatantly wrong call that cost a team a championship. While nothing can be proven at this time, it's reminiscent of the Tim Donaghy game-fixing scandal in the NBA.

Of course it's not at that level yet, and again, the boxing commission hasn't been proven guilty of anything, but something fishy happened Saturday night.

We fall in love with sports because we cherish the unpredictability and excitement that comes with watching our favorite athletes or teams. And it's disheartening to think that the higher-ups in a major sport may be putting money ahead of integrity.

This is a hard pill to swallow, and hopefully no further details arise out of the judges' decision to award Bradley the title.