Former boxing champion Nedal Hussein spoke to World Boxing News this week after a storm erupted over his fight with Manny Pacquiao in 2000.
Referee Carlos Padilla Jr. admitted in a WBC interview that he helped Pacquiao cheat twice in their WBC International title fight.
The bout at Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo City is in the record books as a tenth-round Pacquiao stoppage. However, Padilla stated he gave Pacquiao a long count in the fourth round.
He then called a blatant headbutt a punch, so he had an excuse to pull Hussein out later in the controversial fight.
Nedal Hussein interview
WBN caught up with Hussein to gather his thoughts on a shocking turn of events for a world-exclusive interview.
“Honestly, after watching the referee video, it really hit a nerve. I was upset for a full twenty-four hours,” Hussein told World Boxing News exclusively.
“It’s not the fact that he said what he said. It’s more because we already knew it. But the way he said it with a smirk and a smile like he was proud of what he had done, like the depth of corruption, it’s obviously in his veins and his heart.
“So he had obviously done it before because it was nothing to him.”
Asked what the next move might be after the stunning admission from Padilla, Hussein added: “I have spoken to [my manager] Jeff Fenech regarding what’s going to happen.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen, so we will see what plays out. But we knew from the get-go [that something wasn’t right].
“At the start of the fight, they gave Manny different gloves to what I had on. They put us in a hotel two hours away from the venue on the day of the fight.
“So we knew there was going to be foul play.”
Manny Pacquiao’s career
Pacquiao launched his career in the United States just two bouts after he beat Hussein. Meanwhile, the Australian took four years to get another major title fight despite staying unbeaten after dropping a solitary loss to the “Pac-Man.”
Hussein wouldn’t be drawn on whether history was altered after Pacquiao became a household name in the US.
“I can’t say Pacquiao’s career would never have been the same, but it would have been derailed, that’s for sure,” Hussein told WBN.
“He was a champion before I fought him at flyweight, and then he couldn’t make weight, so he lost his belt. Then he went up in weight.”
Finally, on whether he thought something was untoward with the choice of referee for the clash, Hussein concluded: “With the referee, the terms were there was going to be an Australian judge, a Filipino judge, and a Korean judge.
“Then they said the referee was going to be American. But then he rocked up. He was an American Filipino. So because he was an American citizen, they had their loophole.
“He was a Filipino all along. But it wasn’t supposed to be an issue because he was based in America. But we didn’t know anything about it until the last minute, to be honest.”
What happens next is anyone’s guess, as the World Boxing Council is yet to comment on the uproar. It’s not a good look for the organization, though, and needs to be addressed at the earliest possibility.
Padilla’s entire career as a boxing official is now coming under question.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of experienced boxing writer Phil Jay. Twitter @PhilJWBN. Follow WBN: Facebook, Insta, Twitter.
