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by Clyde_Archive
madlee wrote:I think Hopkins has been the victim of several questionable verdicts: the first Jermain Taylor fight, and the Calzaghe fights come to mind immediately...I don't think anybody but Hopkins would call those questionable. They were close fights that could've gone either way. (For the record I believe I scored both Taylor fights for Hopkins and gave Calzaghe the nod in that fight.)madlee wrote:I guess regarding this verdict, who stands to gain by this decision?Manny is going to retire soon in about a year or so and I think everyone involved has come to the realization that Mayweather will never fight him, especially now that his money problems have gone away. Manny has already fought everyone near his weight class. The only other person is Sergio Martinez, but he'd have to come down a bit in weight.Other than that, Bradley was the scary new guy and Manny was willing to fight him. Manny was even willing to fight the much larger Margarito and he severely damaged him, essentially ending his career.So, with no prospects, and a window closing, you have to wonder if Arum manufactured a rivalry here. Manny's record was already blemished and so a loss doesn't really mean anything. I saw his face after the fight. Looked untouched.There are a number of problems here. Who knows how close Pacquiao is to retiring? He talks about it a lot but so do a lot of boxers who end up sticking around for a long time anyway or make a comeback after a brief retirement. (A brief list would include Erik Morales, Tito Trinidad, Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns, Ray Leonard and the aforementioned Hopkins whose first farewell fight was six years ago.) He's still at the very least the number two draw in the sport. Plus, he has plenty of prospects, the hugest being Mayweather, however likely that fight is at this point. But off the top of my head there's also Saul Alvarez, Amir Khan, a forth fight with Marquez, even Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. who's a Arum house fighter Arum might be ready to cash out. All of them are bigger draws then Bradley. Besides, if Manny can draw huge numbers against Joshua Clottey he can do it against just about anybody. He doesn't need a huge b-side.Another problem with your scenario is that it almost certainly requires Pacquiao be in on it. Arum wouldn't bother trying to bribe the judges when he had to know there was a good chance Pacquiao could knock Bradley out. Bradley had been put on queer street by lesser punchers like Kendall Holt before so there was always the distinct possibility that Pac-man might KO him. He did have Bradley buzzed a few times and if he'd stepped on the gas a little more he might've gotten him out of there. So, who does that leave to benefit who has a great deal of influence? The only person I can think of is Bradley's powerful manager Cameron Dunkin. Now, I'm not accusing him of anything; chances are that incompetence was the real culprit. But Dunkin is a more likely suspect for conspiracy theories as far as I'm concerned.