Pacquiao vs Bradley: What Massive Upset Says About Desert Storm

While many are up and arms about the controversial nature of Manny Pacquiao's loss to Timothy Bradley, one would be foolish to just disregard the fact that "Desert Storm" went out there and put himself in the position to win a split decision against the fighter many would consider to be the best in the world.

That's got to mean something, right?

Up until now we didn't think anyone not named Floyd Mayweather could get between the ropes and hang with Pacquiao let alone beat him. This morning, like it or not, Pacquiao has been defeated, and it came at the hands of Bradley.

Desert Storm is a winner, and he proved it on a huge stage. Sure, it was controversial, but let's give credit to where it is due: the kid went out there and had a great bout.

Also, last I checked a win is a win in the history books no matter what the public opinion was on it—no matter how resounding or how many Twitter followers that public has.

This Tweet Desmond Howard does a good job summing up the overall feeling on the fight:

"

Manny Pacquiao was robbed!!

— Desmond Howard (@DesmondHoward) June 10, 2012"

Heck, even Piers Morgan decided to weight in on the controversial decision:

"

That @MannyPacquiao decision is the worst since @GaryLineker borrowed Alan Hansen's hair dye.

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 10, 2012"

Full disclosure, I do not get that reference.

Here's the long and short of it folks: Bradley did what he had to do to put himself in position to win, and he was the beneficiary of a split-decision. Perhaps Pacquiao should have won the fight, but the fact of the matter is that just as much as Bradley put himself in a position to win, Pac-Man put himself in a prime position to lose it.

Bradley can't win a split decision if he's knocked out with his back on the canvas, and like it or not that's something Pacquiao couldn't get accomplished.

So, go ahead and be angry about the decision. Rant and rave about it and talk about how bad it is for the sport of boxing—to a certain extent I do agree. But, at the end of the day let's not forget that there was a young man that went out there and had the fight of his life, which resulted in him knocking off arguably the greatest boxer in the world. Bradley is still undefeated by the way, and I dare say he's instantly become the sports biggest name.

Even if you don't agree with it, Bradley did enough to win.

Like I said earlier, that's got to mean something, right?