Timothy Bradley has questioned the Josh Taylor vs. Jack Catterall fight scorecards despite getting a gift of his own against Manny Pacquiao.
Despite losing ten rounds against Pacquiao in June 2012, Bradley had the gall to claim he won the fight, just like Taylor on Saturday night.
Catterall won nine rounds, at least eight clearly, but was robbed of a decision by the worst judging in British boxing history.
Similarly, Bradley’s shocking scorecards got the same treatment from the United States media. Even his promoter Bob Arum couldn’t believe it.
“I’ve never been as ashamed of the sport of boxing as I am tonight,” said Arum after the fight.
MANNY PACQUIAO
Bradley took Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight title when the pair met in the first of three bouts. As Taylor did, Bradley wouldn’t contemplate the fact he lost.
“I thought I won the fight,” Bradley insisted. “But I didn’t think he was as good as everyone says he was. I didn’t feel his power.”
Now, in his latest ESPN column, ‘Desert Storm’ brazenly commented on the travesty of justice for Catterall.
“The result of Saturday’s undisputed junior welterweight championship fight between champion Josh Taylor and challenger Jack Catterall hasn’t sat well with me,” Bradley told ESPN.
“The challenger did everything he was supposed to do to win, but the judges handed Taylor a split-decision victory,” he added, which was precisely what he didn’t do against Pacquiao.
“I watched the fight a third time after that just to make sure I wasn’t missing something. Minute after minute, the trend was clear. This was Catterall’s fight.
“He had a plan and executed it brilliantly.
OUT-BOXED
“Catterall outboxed Taylor, but Taylor picked up the rounds on the scorecards.
“The judges didn’t answer the simplest question, and really the only question that they must answer after every round: Who won the round?
“Who landed the more effective punches? That’s how we need to judge a fight. A lot of times, fighters get too much credit for moving forward regardless of what they’re doing, while fighters who fight off their back foot and actually box don’t get credit for that.
“That was clearly the case in this fight,” concluded the ESPN analyst.
It’s not certain Bradley can comment transparently on someone winning a fight for not doing enough. However, boxing fans should commend Bradley for using his platform to speak out.
The views expressed in this article are opinions of Phil Jay.
Phil Jay – Editor of World Boxing News since 2010 with over one billion views. Follow WBN on Twitter @WorldBoxingNews.
