Pacman backs move to investigate fight

Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao said he is supporting  moves to  investigate  last Sunday’s controversial fight wherein he lost his world title to Timothy Bradley via an unpopular split decision at the MGM Garden in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao told news anchors Mike Enriquez and Mel Tiangco of GMA 7’s primetime newscast 24 Oras last night that an investigation must be conducted if only to restore people’s trust in boxing and to protect the sport.

“Dapat po may imbistigasyon talaga para naman ma protektahan ang boxing at maibalik ang tiwala ng mga tao rito,” Pacquiao said from his home in Los Angeles, California.

Pacquiao lost his WBO welterweight crown to Bradley last Sunday when two judges gave the fight to his American challenger with identical scores of 115-113. A third judge had the eight-division champion and Sarangani Representative ahead, 115-113.

The decision earned furious reaction from fans, celebrities, boxing experts and even from the ordinary street guy.

Pacquiao said he clearly won that fight, a claim further bolstered by statistics which showed the pound-for-pound king dominating Bradley in all aspects of the fight game: punches thrown and landed, jabs, and power punches connected.

Pacquiao also won in all scorecards of major sports networks.

“Talo tayo sa mga judges, pero panalo tayo sa mga fans,” Pacquiao told Enriquez when asked about his take on the disputed decision.

Last Sunday’s loss ended Pacquiao’s seven-year unbeaten run spanning 15 fights. And while the ring idol acknowledged that the verdict was a bitter pill to swallow, he said his new-found faith in God made everything easier for him.

“Puno ako ng word of God,” Pacquiao said, “kaya naging mas madali po sa aking tanggapin ang lahat,” he added when Tiangco asked him why he remained so composed and at peace despite his loss which many believed was nothing short of the proverbial highway robbery.

The 33-year-old boxer also informed that it would have been a completely different story if he was not yet a changed man.

“Baka kung ano na ang nagawa ko at nasabi ko dahil sa desisyon na yon.”

Pacquiao also denied notions that his being a changed man is one of the reasons he lost the fight and brushed aside observations that he was complacent in the later rounds.

Pacquiao ended the interview by informing Tiangco that he and his family will push through with their trip to Jerusalem.