Moving Forward
By Steve Kim, MaxBoxing (June 14, 2012) Doghouse Boxing (Photo © German Villasenor)
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Manny Pacquiao vs Timothy Bradley
A beleaguered Bob Arum says his office has been inundated with calls from outraged fans demanding refunds and the like in the aftermath of the highly controversial and disputed decision rendered to Tim Bradley against Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. While it was almost unanimous that the “Pac-Man” had done more than enough to win the fight and retain his WBO welterweight title, both Duane Ford and C.J. Ross scored the bout for Bradley.
 
So what’s next? Will we see a rematch (Pacquiao indicated he would enforce the rematch clause at the post-fight presser) or will Top Rank (which promotes both boxers) go in a different direction?

“First thing that has to be done, ain’t going to be any rematch unless there is a thorough investigation by law enforcement,” said Arum, from his offices in Las Vegas. “They have to investigate the commission, how these guys were appointed, what was told to them before the fight, if anything. We have to investigate the judges; we have to investigate the betting pattern and we have to investigate the promoter- that’s me. And till that is done, I’m not going to even consider a rematch.”
 
You get the sense that Arum wants this investigated to clear his own name as some have speculated he wanted Pacquiao knocked off, for whatever reason. When asked about these allegations, Arum told Maxboxing, “I respond to these allegations by saying that there has to be a complete investigation and see what the facts are. I’m not going to respond to anything that I find ludicrous like that. You know I have nothing to do with picking the judges. I never talk to the officials; I have nothing to do with that. A promoter doesn’t- particularly in Nevada- but let that all come out in the investigation.”
 
It’s doubtful that an investigation will really come up with anything substantive. But this much is clear; perhaps it’s time for Nevada to begin shuffling the deck, regarding who is ringside scoring its biggest events.
 
“Here is the big problem: the big fights generally come to Nevada because of the casino support. It’s a good place to hold a major event,” explained Arum. “Problem is, the fights are regulated by the commission of Nevada and the state commission has a major qualification on officials- that they live in Nevada. Which means that the same pool of officials are selected on a rotating basis for every major fight and that’s not good. We have competent officials around the U.S; we have many competent international officials. You remember when this Thai guy [Anek Hongtongkam] was so good, he used to be a judge [for a lot of fights in Vegas] or Stanley Christodoulou? And we’ve got to have a panel of say, 30 Americans, 20 foreigners and from that panel, officials are chosen. Not the same old Nevada officials rotating. It became incestuous and do I believe Duane Ford is an honest man? Yes, I do but he’s so inbred that he applies voodoo judgment to these fights. It’s voodoo judging that he sees something nobody else sees.”
 
 
You get the sense that certain judges are like that old senior citizen who should have his car keys taken away before he plows his car into a group of innocent bystanders on the sidewalk. “Well, then they’ll say, ‘Who’s he to talk? He’s older than I am.’ Yeah, but I’m not judging,” said Arum, who’s into his 80s.
 
PRESSER
 
On early Monday night, this press release was sent out by Top Rank:
 
LAS VEGAS, NEV. (June 11, 2012) – Bob Arum, Chairman and CEO of Top Rank, said today that he has submitted a formal request to the Nevada Attorney General’s office for a full and complete inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the scoring of Saturday’s WBO welterweight championship fight between defending champion Manny Pacquiao and challenger Timothy Bradley. The Pacquiao-Bradley welterweight title fight took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
 
 “The public has a right to know. The fighters have a right to know," said Arum. “The only way to restore fans’ confidence in boxing is by letting an independent body investigate every detail of the fight no matter how big or small. Sunshine never hurt anyone.”
 
VEGAS
 
There wasn’t quite the usual buzz for a Pacquiao fight this past weekend in Las Vegas. There were patches of empty seats inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena and tickets could be had for less than face value on the secondary market, rare for a Pacquiao fight in the 702. Is it time to take Pacquiao back out on the road like back in 2010 when he performed twice at Cowboys Stadium, fighting in front of over 60,000 fans that year?
 
Arum answered, “We did real well. The gate, you wouldn’t do a gate like this at any place, anywhere. The gate was over $9 million. That’s pretty Goddamn good and it was without pulling tickets and giving them away. We don’t do that. So I think that was very, very good.”
 
According to the veteran promoter, the problem is that, unlike a Juan Manuel Marquez or Shane Mosley, Bradley was a relative unknown to the casual fan. “Tim didn’t bring a fan base, doesn’t have a fan base. Maybe he will now. And that was the difference.”
 
He also pointed out, “Also, there’s another difference we didn’t realize, because there was the EDC (the Electric Daisy Carnival. No wonder why I saw bunch of people wearing fluorescent leg warmers and tights), so Las Vegas prides itself on rooms being so cheap. Well, rooms were going at the MGM Grand and the Cosmopolitan for over $500 a night because they have pyramid pricing. So that killed a lot of who would’ve come in for the fight.”
 
JMO
 
A few thoughts: first, I wouldn’t do an immediate rematch of Bradley-Pacquiao for a couple of reasons. If just about all the fans and media believe Pacquiao was the decisive winner, by doing a return bout so quickly, you might actually be validating the scorecards from this past weekend. Also, if you do this rematch so quickly, you actually give fuel to those who believe the original contest was rigged.
 
Secondly, while Pacquiao continues to do robust numbers in “Sin City” alongside Floyd Mayweather, there’s almost a “Been there, done that” kind of feel to his promotions there. I know state taxes basically eliminate any chance of him fighting ever again in California or in New York but it’s my belief that if you put him in another non-casino venue in a big city/big event market like Miami, there would be a lot of buzz surrounding said event.
 
But there is this economic reality: where else could Bradley-Pacquiao have procured a $9 million gate? This is probably why the “Pac-Man” will finish out his career on the Las Vegas strip.
 
CHAVEZ JR
 
So if Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. successfully defends his WBC middleweight belt versus Andy Lee this Saturday night at the Sun Bowl in El Paso and does so with flying colors, will Chavez and Company begin negotiations with Sergio Martinez’s camp for a fight in September or October?
 
“Oh, absolutely,” claimed Arum. “We got the basic parameters spelled out, 60 percent for us and 40 percent for Lou DiBella. He’ll make his deal with Martinez and we’ll make our deal with Chavez.” (When reached by Maxboxing, DiBella stated, “Seeing is believing.”)
 
A date Top Rank has reserved for pay-per-view is September 15th, which just happens to be the date Golden Boy says they will do their own pay-per-view promotion featuring Saul Alvarez.
 
“Well, that fine; that’s OK. In other words, we have the number one channel on On Demand and they’ll have the number two channel. That’s happened before and they will go at the MGM Grand and we’ll go either in the Alamodome [in San Antonio] or the Thomas and Mack [Center in Las Vegas].”
 
Yeah, this Cold War isn’t thawing anytime soon; is it?
 
MOVING ON
 
It looks more and more like the fight between Mikey Garcia and Celestino Caballero will not take place for the WBA featherweight title. Bottom line is that Sampson Lewkowicz, who won the purse bid, is having problems finding a place for that fight. The word is that his bid was financed by Floyd Mayweather (who’s currently busy right now) and may not have the capital to stage this fight.
 
I’m being told that Garcia could face WBO beltholder Orlando Salido in October now. Garcia last fought in early March in support of Salido’s exciting knockout of Juan Manuel Lopez in Puerto Rico. Salido is scheduled to go again in Mexico on July 28th and Garcia could be added to that show before they face each other in the fall.
 
Salido-Garcia? Sign me up.
 
KING FLURRIES
 
On Tuesday morning, Golden Boy Promotions is making a “special” announcement regarding their September 15th event. Many believe it will be to announce that if Victor Ortiz beats Josesito Lopez on June 23rd, he’ll face “Canelo” next...Just my two pesos but Salido-Garcia belongs at the Home Depot Center...For the record, watched Bradley-Pacquiao again. My original score was 117-111 for the “Pac-Man” from ringside; I had it 116-112 from my laptop vantage point...Here’s a great look back at Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney from Carlos “The Assassin” Acevedo: http://thecruelestsport.com/2012/06/11/imagine-a-day-at-the-end-of-your-life-larry-holmes-gerry-cooney-revisited/...So Ochocinco is now with the ’Phins? Don’t even know what to think about that...Yes, I will be in Newark this weekend for the Tomasz Adamek-Eddie Chambers fight at the Prudential Center...

More of Steve's recent work below his contact info...
I can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com and I tweet at www.Twitter.com/stevemaxboxing. We also have a Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing.

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