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Defending world champions, particularly those who are the face of the sport, often get the benefit of the doubt in close scoring rounds. Judges often tilt the tight round in the established titleholder’s favor.

Manny Pacquiao was not so fortunate with the scorecards in his welterweight title defense against Timothy Bradley late Saturday in Las Vegas. Close- or wide-margin rounds didn’t matter, as Pacquiao lost a controversial split decision to Bradley before a stunned crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

“People know. It’s part of the game,” Pacquiao said. “I know how hard it is in there. I did my best but my best wasn’t good enough.”

Pacquiao’s “part of the game” reference likely was attributed to the performance of judges Duane Ford and C.J. Ross. Although Pacquiao appeared to land the more telling punches throughout the 12-round distance, Ford and Ross thought otherwise and both scored the fight for Bradley 115-113. The third judge, Jerry Roth, had Pacquiao winning by the same 115-113 margin.

Deserving?

Immediately after the fight even Bradley said he would need to watch a replay to determine if he was the clear winner. Later, in a postfight news conference he sounded more (…read more at Miami Herald)

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