INSIDE SPORTS: RESPECTING THE JUDGES'S DECISION
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 19 Mar 2008
In what must surely be regarded as a painfully ironic twist, Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao, who has consistently pleaded for national unity every time he fights and has laid his life on the line, willing, in his words, ?to die for my country,? his razor-thin, split decision victory over Mexican great Juan Manuel Marquez has, by itself, regrettably caused divisions among fight fans and even media.
Quite honestly, we ourselves felt that the best decision would have been a draw in recognition of the classic performance of Marquez and the gallantry and courage of Pacquiao.
Significantly, no less than World Boxing Council president Don Jose Sulaiman, a Mexican, applauded Pacquiao and said he was proud of the new champion.
Don Jose should be commended for his sense of fairness and sportsmanship because even as he vehemently disagreed with the choice of the judges, he conceded they had an incredibly difficult task and by his acceptance of the victory by Pacquiao, effectively conceded the judges did the right thing.
Celebrated trainer Freddie Roach said that if Marquez had won the fight by one point, he wouldn?t complain. It simply means that in a fight as close as the rematch, the decision could have gone either way. That it went Manny?s way doesn?t mean that it was a bad decision like we?ve seen in some instances in the past in Las Vegas.
It was a tough fight to call, because there are no hard and fast rules that judges have to follow in their appreciation of how both boxers perform. It?s all a question of individual perception. The three Solar Sports TV panelists themselves were divided. While veteran Quinito Henson saw Pacquiao the winner, Chino Trinidad and International Boxing Federation/International Boxing Organization flyweight champion Nonito ?The Filipino Flash? Donaire had Marquez winning the fight.
HBO commentators Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and Emmanuel Steward unanimously had Pacquiao the winner, while former boxing judge and HBO?s resident expert Harold Lederman gave the fight to Manny by three points.
Many of the respected boxing writers some of whom disagreed over the decision in the first fight, which they believed Marquez should have won, this time accepted the fact that Pacquiao deserved to win what was to many an excruciatingly close fight. That is the nature and indeed the excitement of boxing that, in a strange way, keeps the sport alive. And as Roach so correctly pointed out, fights such as Pacquiao-Marquez II are great for boxing.
The fundamental position should be that the judges are the individuals appointed to judge the fight. They are the authority, nobody else. We must, therefore, respect their decision although we do not agree with those who claim that all those who thought Marquez won or deserved a draw had no right to complain or make their views known.
However, the more important and rewarding pursuit may well be in savoring the drama and the emotion coupled with the skill and the courage that marked one of the great fights of recent years. If a distinguished Mexican, WBC president Don Jose Sulaiman can accept the decision and praise Pacquiao for demonstrating he had ?The heart of a lion,? surely we Filipinos can do no less.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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