It's probably only businessDEMAND AND SUPPLY By Boo Chanco (The Philippine Star) Updated June 13, 2012
I am not much of a sports fan but when the Azkals unexpectedly scored their first few victories, I made an effort to watch their games on television. For me, the Azkals soccer team was more than football… it was morale boosting... a vision of what we could be even if we started out as unwanted homeless mongrels on the prowl in unfriendly streets.
Boxing is another thing altogether. I see it as gladiator sport… the human version of a pintakasi… cockfighting. Still, I recall feeling national pride when as a young boy I too got excited when Gabriel “Flash” Elorde won a world championship belt. I lost track of the other world champion Pinoy boxers since Elorde until Manny Pacquiao came along.
I see the PacMan as more than a boxer. For good or bad, the PacMan has become a symbol of Pinoy aspirations. He came at a time when we needed someone to reassure us we can make it big on the world stage. We are hungry for such symbols. Jessica Sanchez, like the PacMan, managed to get our national attention and unite our thoughts even if for a moment.
Indeed, I am amazed how the PacMan and Jessica can erase ethnic, regional and tribal differences among us and make us one Filipino nation. For the hour or so while they were competing for high honors, we forgot our petty quarrels. We are there for them because their victory is ours… somehow.
I thought the fight was all over halfway through. I was as surprised as apparently, the whole world of boxing was when a relatively unknown boxer called Bradley was declared the winner in a split decision.
Oh, I thought, the mafia probably had a big bet on the unlikely outcome. Or maybe they are all in on it to make sure they make more money on a guaranteed rematch. Boxing after all, is big business. The boxers and promoters get big money from gate receipts, television rights and from cable sales. There are also all the betting in a gambling town like Las Vegas.
It didn’t help calm my suspicions when one FB friend posted a reaction to a post I made that supported my worse fears. The post said: “I’m here in Vegas and many gamblers here already knew Pacquiao was going to lose to have bigger money on the rematch and they made some chunk of change on it. The ‘orchestra’ played each of the notes very well. Who could the conductor be? Who are the ‘real’ players? It’s a sad day in boxing history when the credibility of a fight is compromised. C’mon people, just connect the dots!”
So, maybe they are all in on the big bucks and the fans are made to believe boxing is a sport where the best man always wins. But the howl of protest from seemingly everyone, every celebrity with the exception of Justin Bieber reverberated on social media. If Lindsey Lohan was not in a car accident, I am sure she would be tweeting her protest too. They may have fooled people in the olden days but they aren’t fooling this technology savvy generation.
Yes, I thought, speaking of technology, how come in this digital age they haven’t advanced from using human judges in boxing matches? A number of well situated cameras and sensors will deliver the numbers that would determine a winner without question. Human judges are biased, possibly corrupt and not physically fast enough to catch nuances of a fast paced match the way cameras and sensors would.
I mused about that on my Facebook wall and friends responded that it was not only a good idea but technology is now being used in various sports competitions. Apparently, even in taekwondo, a contact sport like boxing, technology is being used. Boxing has no excuse to be such a laggard.
My paper’s website, Philstar.com posted a report that confirmed my point about using technology. “In the final punchstat released by Compubox, Pacquiao was the more accurate fighter, landing 253 blows out of the 751 total punches he threw during the fight. This translates to a 34-percent connect rate for the Filipino.
“In contrast, though he was the busier fighter, Bradley landed only 159 blows out of the 839 punches he unleashed the entire fight for a landing rate of 19 percent. That’s 94 more punches Pacquiao landed on Bradley, whom Pacquiao said failed to hurt him in the bout. Pacquiao also overwhelmed Bradley in the powershots department, 190-108.”
So what happened? What did the two judges see no one else did? Not a single media outfit that also judged the fight called it for Bradley. We are talking veteran sports reporters who know their boxing in and out but they unanimously saw it differently from the way two of the three judges saw it.
It is indeed high time for boxing to start using technology for the protection of honest boxers, screaming fans and the credibility of the sport itself. Perhaps we can still have human judges but what they say must only have so much weight with the rest determined by stats gathered by cameras and sensors.
There will always be problems with boxing judges or baseball umpires and football referees. But in some sports like basketball, it is possible for a questionable call by a referee to be reviewed by a panel of officials based on a replay of the recorded game. The threat of being exposed as a cheat should keep most referees honest most of the time.
There are many ways to cheat in sporting events and sports officials must always be ahead of the crooks. The big money on legal betting and side bets should be seen as incentive enough for crooks to try to game the system. And if the corruption and the fraud remain unabated, the sport itself could lose its luster and die off.
The prestigious magazine The Atlantic in a post in its website The Atlantic Wire headlined: Boxing Reels After Decision Robs Its Biggest Star. It went on to declare that “The sport of boxing is in critical condition the morning after its biggest star, Manny Pacquiao, was robbed by the judges in his fight against Timothy Bradley… Whether the decision will kill the sport of boxing remains to be seen. It’s certainly on life support, though.”
The Atlantic Wire report continues: “Grantland’s Bill Simmons sort-of jokingly implied larger forces might have been at work, tweeting, ‘Never been more stunned by a boxing decision. So disgusted right now. Now we know why the odds dropped all week.’ He followed that up with the much more direct, ‘Does everyone who watched tonight’s fight have to appear as witnesses at the trial for the people who fixed it? How does this work?’”
Freddie Roach, the PacMan’s trainer wants the judges investigated. The promoter Bob Arum says there will be no rematch until the Nevada Attorney General investigates. That’s also probably to quiet suspicion that Arum, who has much to gain in a rematch, was part of a well orchestrated charade.
“It’s outrageous,” fumed Roach. “I think the judges who saw it for Bradley should be expelled. I don’t blame Bradley. It’s not his fault. Who can agree with that kind of decision? I’ll admit Manny gave away the 11th round but I told him to throw combinations and step it up in the last round which I thought he took. There was no way Bradley won that fight. Manny won that fight.”
The PacMan took everything calmly saying it is God’s will. A boxing pro, he knows that’s how the game works. He won a previous fight which folks say his opponent Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez should have won. Now the shoe is on the other foot… with everyone saying he should have won the fight Bradley won.
Technology should be called in to settle the controversy once and for all. And henceforth, use technology to keep the human factor in judging in check. It is probably only business but businesses must have credibility to continue to exist.
Boxing match
This one’s from
www.jokebuddha.comA man and his wife were watching a boxing match on TV.
“Boy, I’m really disappointed. It was all over in just a few minutes,” said the husband.
“Good!” replied his wife. “Now you understand how I feel!”
www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=816594&publicationSubCategoryId=66