Pacquiao vs Bradley
Well i just watched the fight yesterday, which was a bit after the fight actually happened, as it was on at 2am over here. Unfortunately i saw the result of the fight by accident before i even got to watch it, so that sucked. But even though i knew the result, i was thinking all the way through the fight how on earth has he won this one. There was no way whatsoever that Bradley won that fight, the guy was completely beaten and you would struggle to give Bradley 2 or 3 rounds, let alone the 9 or so that two of the judges gave him, or the amount the 3rd judge gave, because he "judged" it a lot closer than it really was.
I don't want to bash on Bradley because it wasn't his fault he won and he looked as confused as everybody else when the words new champion came out. He gave everything he could and credit to him, he managed to go the 12 rounds and didn't get knocked down, even though he was very wobbly at one or two points. I liked his kind of angry defensive that he had going for him, whenever he was hurt he would throw a flurry of punches and try to fight his way out of trouble, where other people would back away(which is usually more sensible).
Pacquiao has definitely been robbed in this fight, and its hard not to go along with the crowd when they are shouting fix in regards to this fight. It has put another taint on boxing, and at the moment the sport could really do without any controversies like that. This fan base for boxing seems to be dwindling rapidly and these sorts of controversial decisions aren't helping, as its becoming more of a laughing stock and who knows if a champion is worth his grain, when it seems to be other people are choosing who should hold the belts (similar to wrestling really).
Changes need to be made to the sport and the scoring system before it becomes a sport of the past and UFC completely takes over. The way fights are organised and advertised needs be changed to a more deserving system. So that we are seeing the best fighters battling against each other, rather than handpicked punching bags. Fighters should also not be able to duck fighters if they have proven themselves, or their belts are vacated if they do. This should make the best fights happen, rather than us missing out on the greatest fight of that generation because one of them is scared. Although in the case of the Klitschko's this wouldn't be ideal as they promised that they would never fight each other. Although i bet one would vacate their belts to their brother if that was the case. Lastly the scoring system needs to change, so as to stop stupid decisions. I don't know how it could be changed, other than to let them fight until one gives up, but there must be other ways. I don't agree with the compubox way though, as it is too erroneous.
Anyway lastly Pacquiao probably brought about his own downfall in this match by letting it go to the judges decision. Early on in the fight (i think round 5) Bradley didn't have a clue where he was and was just about managing to stay on his feet, but the bell eventually went and they went to their corners. When Pacquiao came out he just took it easy and rested rather than applying the pressure and getting the knockout. He always talks about giving the fans a good show and wanting to please them, so i think he wanted to prolong the fight and give the people their moneys worth, but later on he was too tired to finish him off. So if there is a rematch i wouldn't be surprised if Pacquiao tries to get in and out as quickly as he can.
I don't know whether i think Pacquiao should retire now and upset the people who would make money on the rematch, or he should keep continuing for a bit longer and giving us some memorable fights before the next guy comes along. I can't see the Mayweather fight ever happening, as now Mayweather has another excuse to hide behind by saying Pacquiao has lost again. But i'll still keep my fingers crossed that it will one day happen.