Boxing’s Death Knell

In the midst of trying to stay relevant, the sport of boxing has absorbed another Tyson-like uppercut to the jaw.

With a split-decision loss Saturday night, Manny Pacquiao’s ascent to the top of the boxing world came to an abrupt and stunning end. Yahoo Sports scored it 117-111 Pacquiao. Dan Rafael of ESPN had it 118-110 for Pacquiao. HBO’s Harold Lederman had it 119-109.  I had the fight scored 117-111 in favor of Pacquiao. And yet the only scores that mattered were the judges who all scored it 115-113. Two of their scorecards favored Bradley, while one favored Pacquiao.

This is the worst possible result for the sport of boxing, which struggled to maintain relevance circa 2001 until Manny Pacquiao burst on to the United States scene. Boxing’s glory division has always been its heavyweights but when was the last time you looked forward to a Klitschko fight? Since the demise of Mike Tyson, subsequent champions Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, and both of the Kiltschko brothers have failed to carry the sport. Pacquiao injected the sweet science with much-needed adrenaline during a time where boxing was losing fans in droves to MMA. Casual observers of the sport became die-hard Pacquiao fans. His string of victories against celebrated Mexican fighters Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez, Eric Morales, and Oscar de la Hoya earned him one of the greatest nicknames in sport today, “The Mexicutioner.” There was only one fight left for Pacquiao to elevate him into the stratosphere of some of the greatest of all-time, and that was against Floyd Mayweather.

This is where boxing becomes frustrating because the best two fighters in the world still have yet to match-up. As Pacquiao kept moving up in weight and destorying Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, and Antonio Margarito in the process it didn’t seem to matter. Fans wanted to see Pacquiao fight Mayweather. In all other major individual sports, fans get to see the best athletes go head to head. In MMA, you will always see the best go against the best within a year. The only superfight never to have taken place in MMA was Randy Couture vs. Fedor Emelianenko. Now that fight is no longer relevant. Pacquiao vs. Mayweather seems to be following suit.

After Bradley’s victory, boxing has lost any legitimacy it had left. The furor that erupted from the broadcast booth echoed all the sentiments of everyone watching. Even Bradley looked shocked when the decision was announced. The only decision that even comes close to this outrage was South Korea’s Park Si-Hun gold medal victory over the United States’ Roy Jones Jr. at the 1988 Olympics. All three judges who voted against Jones were suspended. The same case could be made here for disciplinary action against the judges.

Mayweather no longer has motivation to fight Pacquiao. He can keep his perfect record intact, and if they ever fight he can demand a 70-30 or 60-40 split which Pacquiao will never accept (he has to have 50-50). Additionally, since this process has dragged out so long, casual boxing fans, the ones who never paid the $60 for a pay-per-view bout before Pacquiao came long will be less inclined to watch. Why would they? Both fighters are clearly past their prime. The Pacquiao who put de la Hoya into retirement in 2008 is not the same Pacquiao that exists today. His last fight against Marquez resulted in a decision that was hotly debated by some. Had Marquez not slowed up in the final rounds, he might have easily won the fight. And Mayweather’s last fight against Cotto cast him as no longer impenetrable.

The best fighters don’t fight, the fight that the sport badly needed is no longer relevant. And with judging that is accused of being corrupt (Teddy Atlas of ESPN spearheading that movement), baffling by legendary HBO boxing announcer Jim Lampley, boxing’s death knell is ringing louder and stronger than ever before.