Manny Pacquiao was on the losing end of one of the most controversial judging decisions in boxing history when he lost his WBO welterweight title to Jeff Horn on Saturday, but his promoter isn’t only blaming the judges.
Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s longtime promoter, felt referee Mark Nelson allowed Horn to place Pacquiao in too many headlocks and hold the Filipino fighter for too long. Arum believes Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, should have done more about that.
“What the hell is wrong with that corner? Why wasn’t Freddie Roach out in the ring between rounds yelling at the referee? It’s his job,” Arum said, per Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times. “And there’s confusion in the corner with the languages, with (assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez) and (cut man) Miguel Diaz yelling and screaming like a maniac.”
Michael Koncz, Pacquiao’s manager, agreed with Arum.
“The corner didn’t have a strategy. They were all amazed Jeff Horn was such a tough, rugged fighter and they didn’t adapt to it,” Koncz said. “There’s a lot of blame to go around, but the bottom line is the kid had a lot of heart and came to win and did everything he could to get it, and the referee let him do more than he should have.”
With all the outrage we have seen over the judges’ decision, there hasn’t been much talk about Pacquiao’s actual performance. Arum felt the fighter and his corner were “overconfident” going in.
“I had seen the kid. I told everybody he was a big, tough kid who could take a punch,” Arum said. “I didn’t think he’d beat Manny, but it wasn’t the same Manny.
“First, I have to find out if Manny wants to continue fighting. I said sitting there ringside, ‘This is not the Manny Pacquiao that we had even a year ago.’ You can’t be a senator and fight part-time. And he’s getting older, not younger.”
If you saw what Roach said following the fight, you might get the impression that we have seen the last of Pacquiao in the boxing ring. Retiring at 39 wouldn’t be the worst idea for him.
