Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley Live Report: The Judges Beat the Fans by TKO

By: William Holmes, (Not) Ringside

I had predicted a Manny Pacquiao victory against Timothy Bradley. I was wrong.

I also predicted that either Pacquiao or Mayweather would lose before they met in the ring. I was right.

Tonight’s main event started like every other main event in boxing. There was an incredibly long break in between the last fight on the undercard and the main event.

Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank

We saw the standard Top Rank Promotions highlight clip that reminded you of boxing’s glorious past. We saw the standard highlight reels of both of the fighters in the main event, Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley.

Those in attendance were made to believe that tonight would become a memorable night in boxing like the fights we saw in the highlight reels.

It was a memorable night, but not for the same reasons as Hagler vs. Hearns.

Everybody knew Bradley was ready for a fight, and that he had trained incredibly hard for it. Nobody was questioning Bradley’s skills or heart, because he had both.

But Bradley got outclassed, outworked, out struck, and out maneuvered tonight. Everybody in the audience and press row knew it. Even the look on Bradley’s face after the fight was over seemed to indicate that even he knew it.

Even though this is hearsay, Arum claimed Bradley said to him immediately after the fight, “I tried hard, but I couldn’t beat the guy.”

From my viewpoint I scored it 116-112 for Pacquiao, and I thought I was being generous in rewarding some of the swing rounds to Bradley.

The only people who viewed it differently tonight were CJ Ross and Duane Ford, who both scored it 115-113 for Timothy Bradley. Judge Jerry Roth scored it 115-13 for Pacquiao.

It was clear that Pacquiao should have been declared the winner, and Bradley the loser.

But the only loser tonight were the fans, who either paid $60 in PPV money or $200 and up to see it live. Now they’re going to be asked to pay that money again to see a fight where the loser clearly won, and they won’t be seeing the fight they truly want to see.

Round by round analysis, with my scores and the official scores of the judges, follows below:

Round 1:

The first round did not start off like most championship fights where both fighters spend most of the round trying to feel each other out. It started at a furious pace. Pacquiao started off the first round with early attacks to the body, and Bradley attempted to counter those attacks but was mainly unsuccessful. Pacquiao was beginning to land his 1-2 combinations near the end of the round, but it was apparent that Bradley would be able to match the hand speed of Pacquiao.

Boxing Insider Score: 10-9 Pacquiao
Jerry Roth: 10-9 Pacquiao
CJ Ross: 10-9 Pacquiao
Duane Ford: 10-9 Bradley

Round 2:

This round was closer than the first, and featured Bradley willingly trading combinations with Pacquiao. Bradley at one point tied up with Manny and landed several short hard shots to the body. Pacquiao landed a few two punch combinations, but the body work of Bradley arguably gave him the round.

Boxing Insider Score: 10-9 Bradley
Jerry Roth: 10-9 Bradley
CJ Ross: 10-9 Bradley
Duane Ford: 10-9 Pacquiao

Round 3:

This round featured great action and was difficult to keep up with. Pacquiao and Bradley traded combinations many times throughout this round, but Pacquiao was landing the cleaner and harder shots. Bradley landed a solid right uppercut to the body, but whenever they exchanged Pacquiao got the better of Bradley.

Boxing Insider Score: 10-9 Pacquiao
Jerry Roth: 10-9 Pacquiao
CJ Ross: 10-9 Pacquiao
Duane Ford: 10-9 Pacquiao

Round 4:

Pacquiao landed a beautiful left to the body right to the head combination in this round. Bradley was able to land a few body shot son Pacquiao by the corner, but Pacquiao attacked relentlessly with a fury that we have not seen of him recently. Pacquiao hurt Bradley with a combination in this round, and the crowd rose to its feet in acknowledgement.

Boxing Insider Score: 10-9 Pacquiao
Jerry Roth: 10-9 Pacquiao
CJ Ross: 10-9 Pacquiao
Duane Ford: 10-9 Pacquiao

Round 5:

Pacquiao started off this round by banging his gloves and begging Bradley to come forward. Pacquiao took it easy in the early part of the round, but his aggressiveness slowly picked up steam. A left hand by Pacquiao stunned Bradley by the corner and Pacquiao continued his relentless attack from the previous round.

Boxing Insider Score: 10-9 Pacquiao
Jerry Roth: 10-9 Pacquiao
CJ Ross: 10-9 Bradley
Duane Ford: 10-9 Bradley

Round 6:

Pacquiao again punches his gloves and begs Bradley to come forward and attack. When Bradley didn’t answer Pacquiao’s request, Pacquiao decided to attack. Pacquiao had Bradley trapped in the corner and unleashed a blizzard of body and head combinations. A hard straight left hand landed cleanly for Pacquiao near the end of the round. He appeared to be running away with the fight at this point.

Boxing Insider Score: 10-9 Pacquiao
Jerry Roth: 10-9 Pacquiao
CJ Ross: 10-9 Pacquiao
Duane Ford: 10-9 Pacquiao

Round 7:

This round was a better round for Timothy Bradley, but it still was a very close round. There was furious exchanged by both fighters, but Bradley was beginning to land his right hook and body combinations. Pacquiao also landed a solid left hook, but Bradley was not backing away from the punches of Pacquiao. It was obvious that Pacquiao loved the fact that Bradley was willing to stand and trade with him.

Boxing Insider Score: 10-9 Bradley
Jerry Roth: 10-9 Bradley
CJ Ross: 10-9 Bradley
Duane Ford: 10-9 Bradley

Round 8:

An early head but by Manny Pacquiao caused Bradley to turn away and try to recover. There was not as much action in this round as the previous seven, but it still featured more action than most bouts. Manny was continuously pressing forward in this round and was chasing Bradley around the ring. Bradley tried to jab his way out of trouble, but Pacquiao was easily able to block them.

Boxing Insider Score: 10-9 Pacquiao
Jerry Roth: 10-9 Pacquiao
CJ Ross: 10-9 Bradley
Duane Ford: 10-9 Bradley

Round 9:

Pacquiao landed an early right hook immediately following a two punch combinations. Bradley was able to land a few hooks around the side of Pacquiao’s high guard. Pacquiao remained aggressive, and was throwing from all sorts of angles making it very difficult for Bradley to dodge and block his punches. Not enough offense or aggressiveness from Bradley.

Boxing Insider Score: 10-9 Pacquiao
Jerry Roth: 10-9 Pacquiao
CJ Ross: 10-9 Pacquiao
Duane Ford: 10-9 Bradley

Round 10:

A straight right hand landed early for Timothy Bradley, and a jab cross combination was able to split the guard of Pacquiao. Pacquiao does not seem to be as willing to exchange in this round as he was in previous rounds. Pacquiao appeared to have stepped off the gas pedal, and was visibily tired. He was chasing Bradley around the ring at the end of the round.

Boxing Insider Score: 10-9 Bradley
Jerry Roth: 10-9 Bradley
CJ Ross: 10-9 Bradley
Duane Ford: 10-9 Bradley

Round 11:

Bradley was able to land a few early jabs, but many of the jabs he threw were blocked. Pacquiao came on strong at the last minute with combinations, but Bradley was able to end the round strong with a solid hook by the corner. It was a very close round to score.

Boxing Insider Score: 10-9 Bradley
Jerry Roth: 10-9 Bradley
CJ Ross: 10-9 Bradley
Duane Ford: 10-9 Pacquiao

Round 12:

This was the championship round, and at this point a very large majority of the fans and media in attendance felt Bradley needed a knockout to win. Pacquiao was able to catch Bradley with a right hook was Bradley was coming forward. There were several good exchanges this round, but Pacquiao appeared to get the better of Bradley. Pacquiao landed another combination at the end of the round.

Boxing Insider Score: 10-9 Pacquiao
Jerry Roth: 10-9 Bradley
CJ Ross: 10-9 Bradley
Duane Ford: 10-9 Bradley

The official scores were 115-113 for Pacquiao by Jerry Roth, 115-113 for Bradley by CJ Ross, and 115-113 for Bradley by Duane Ford. I had it 116-112 for Pacquiao from my seat inside the MGM Arena.

The official CompuBox final punch states were released after the fight, and showed that Pacquiao connected on 252 punches compared to Bradley’s 159 punches. He landed 34% of his punches compared to 19% of Bradley’s. Bradley threw nearly 200 more jabs than Pacquiao, but Pacquiao still landed 12 more jabs than Bradley.

The most telling stat was the number of power punches connected and percentage landed. Pacquiao landed 190 power punches to Bradley’s 108 punches, and landed 39% of his power punches compared to 28% of Bradley’s.

The biggest errors I saw on the scorecards were rounds five and eight that were scored in favor of Bradley by CJ Ross and Duane Ford.

A second viewing on television next week on HBO will maybe show something that I missed. But the general feeling amongst the fans and media were that this was a robbery, and Pacquiao should have been awarded the decision.