Gran Campeon
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Hernandez had already dropped the first round, and he was looking at an early three point deficit on the scorecards in the scheduled 10-rounder.
But after an exciting back-and-forth third frame, Hernandez seemed to take control of the bout with his trademark pressure and an unrelenting body attack that had Pacquiao - the younger brother of the famed 'Pac Man' - turning his back in pain in the later rounds.
While the Filipino was game and gritty in lasting the distance, it was Hernandez who showed his class in seemingly pulling away from Pacquiao late. It was unanimous across press row - Hernandez was clearly the winner.
But when ring announcer Jimmy Lennon announced a split decision, a noticeable wincing spread throughout the arena. Judge Robert Hoyle would tab Hernandez the winner by a score of 97-92. Chuck Giampa scored the bout 95-94 for Pacquiao. Then Lennon would announce Duane Ford's score of 95-93....for Pacquiao.
Pacquiao's corner would jump up in unison as if they had just won the lottery. Meanwhile, across the ring, Hernandez was inconsolable and his promoter, Bob Arum, seethed.
Loud boos would cascade down from the rafters.
When Hernandez would climb up on the corner of the ring, he would receive a thunderous ovation from the masses. When Pacquiao did the same, he was roundly jeered.
Obviously, he wasn't in Manila.
"I was so sad," said Hernandez near ringside, after the night's bouts had ended, "but climbing up the ring you feel it from the people and they stand up, and with that ovation it was just a tear-jerker for me."
Hernandez is an emotional sort. He doesn't even try to hide it. He would shed tears after his loss to Erik Morales last year and he did so again at the post-fight
press conference after his razor-thin defeat to Jesus Chavez this past May. This last 'loss' was the toughest pill to swallow.
In the immediate aftermath of the verdict, his promoter would come over to share his thoughts on the scorecards.
"He was pissed off," Hernandez said of Arum, with a laugh. "He couldn't believe it and I think the fans are the best judges, and they all congratulated me, and I'm sad."
As fans filed out of the arena after Castillo's fourth round stoppage of Corrales, hordes of fans would come over to Hernandez and his wife with their condolences, while at the same time asking for autographs and posing for pictures. It seemed to lift his spirits, but as he talked about the fight and the decision, you could still feel his heartbreak.
The fight itself got off to a blistering start, with Pacquiao giving Hernandez fits with his quick left cross and right hook. But soon, Hernandez would be controlling the action.
"He was a totally weird style, even for a lefty," he explained. "But I believe from the third and fourth round on I was just putting on the pressure and I thought I took it maybe by four points."
His trainer, Rudy Hernandez, had no doubts as to who won their fight.
"I feel like we could go another ten rounds. I thought we did enough to win at least seven or eight rounds and should've gotten the decision. But at the end, it's the judges who make that call."
Arum, a full three days after the stench of the decision had worn off, was still incensed.
"I mean.... it was crazy," said Arum, grasping for words that would properly project his disgust. "It was nuts! I mean the fight started off real good and competitive and then I was talking to the people around me, the Showtime people and so forth and I said, 'Well, it started off competitive but too bad it's become a blowout'. It was a one-sided fight."
Hernandez-Pacquiao did make some history, though. It was the first time in memory that a trainer, Freddie Roach, admitted that his fighter had lost.
"So did the manager," said Arum. "I mean everybody, anybody who watched it, it was a joke!!! And the thing that's really bad, I can see one official having a bad night, but two guys on the same fight?!?! Something smells."
Unfortunately, this is far from the first bad decision boxing has suffered from and it won't be the last. But in the state of Nevada, it always seems to be the same suspects that are involved in rendering these controversial rulings. You folks know who they are.
Isn't it time for some new blood (and a new set of eyes) to start judging these bouts in what is the most influential and important boxing jurisdiction in the world?
"I agree with you," says the veteran promoter. "This was the height of incompetence. And those two guys shouldn't be allowed to judge any kind of significant(fight). They should go back to four and six rounders, but that wouldn't be fair to four and six round guys."
So why do we keep seeing the same judges in Nevada over and over again?
"Well," reasoned Arum, "they were guys who had a track record of being judges, but they just can't judge anymore. They just can't judge; neither guy can judge
anymore."
So after all these years, why haven't we seen a new generation of arbiters in Nevada? It seems to be that we've seen some of the guys since the first Dempsey-Tunney fight.
"You saw one in that fight," pointed out Marc Ratner, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, of Hoyle, the dissenting voice that had Hernandez on top. "We're trying to develop them and it takes some time. It takes a lot of fours, sixes and eights, and certainly our judges are veteran judges, but just as it is in officiating in all sports, you always have to have new guys coming up, pushing the old guys."
Ratner would know, since he is a football official for the Mountain West conference. But it seems in other sports, referees and umpires seem to be held much more accountable for their actions than boxing judges.
But Ratner says that the jobs of judging fights are not permanent.
"These aren't supreme court appointees," he says. It only seems that way, I guess.
But Ratner refrains from making blanket statements on the bout and it's scoring because, "I haven't seen any of the replays," he admitted. "That night I was in and out, back and forth and I probably only saw four complete rounds. I just had too much going on in the back." But he adds, "Everybody I talked to, certainly the majority of the people had Hernandez winning the fight."
Currently he is on a short vacation in Oregon, but Ratner says that he will view the bout in it's entirety on video. After every card in Nevada, big or small, Ratner meets with his commission members and goes over their performance. He said on Saturday night that Hernandez-Pacquiao, "was the only fight we discussed." But since he couldn't see the whole ten rounds, he would reserve judgment on the scores of Ford and Giampa.
But he did add, "I had quite a few reporters that night come over to me and say, 'Man, that was a pretty easy win for Hernandez.'"
Unfortunately, it will be a loss on the official record of Hernandez, his second in a row. What does his future look like at 34 years old?
"I wish him (Pacquiao) the best, just like with Jesus Chavez, I wish them all the best, but I don't know," admitted Hernandez, contemplating his career path. "I have to sit down and see what's going to happen. I'm getting old and I can't stand it, this is two in a row. It hurts and I don't want to say something and regret what I said.
"So of course I would like to fight him again, but who knows if that happens. Who knows if they'll fight me."
Don't count out retirement.
"When we went back to the lockeroom, he said that he felt he was a slight second too slow," said his trainer. "And I told him, 'Y'know what? Maybe it's the time. It's time when you take a big step back and say that enough is enough.' I think he should retire. If he feels a split second behind, than he's got no business fighting anymore."
If he should continue to fight on, Arum says this latest bout will not affect his standing in the marketplace.
"As far as everybody's concerned, he won the fight. So I look at it as a victory." But don't expect a second bout between the two. "No need for a rematch because it was a one-sided fight."
But after an exciting back-and-forth third frame, Hernandez seemed to take control of the bout with his trademark pressure and an unrelenting body attack that had Pacquiao - the younger brother of the famed 'Pac Man' - turning his back in pain in the later rounds.
While the Filipino was game and gritty in lasting the distance, it was Hernandez who showed his class in seemingly pulling away from Pacquiao late. It was unanimous across press row - Hernandez was clearly the winner.
But when ring announcer Jimmy Lennon announced a split decision, a noticeable wincing spread throughout the arena. Judge Robert Hoyle would tab Hernandez the winner by a score of 97-92. Chuck Giampa scored the bout 95-94 for Pacquiao. Then Lennon would announce Duane Ford's score of 95-93....for Pacquiao.
Pacquiao's corner would jump up in unison as if they had just won the lottery. Meanwhile, across the ring, Hernandez was inconsolable and his promoter, Bob Arum, seethed.
Loud boos would cascade down from the rafters.
When Hernandez would climb up on the corner of the ring, he would receive a thunderous ovation from the masses. When Pacquiao did the same, he was roundly jeered.
Obviously, he wasn't in Manila.
"I was so sad," said Hernandez near ringside, after the night's bouts had ended, "but climbing up the ring you feel it from the people and they stand up, and with that ovation it was just a tear-jerker for me."
Hernandez is an emotional sort. He doesn't even try to hide it. He would shed tears after his loss to Erik Morales last year and he did so again at the post-fight
press conference after his razor-thin defeat to Jesus Chavez this past May. This last 'loss' was the toughest pill to swallow.
In the immediate aftermath of the verdict, his promoter would come over to share his thoughts on the scorecards.
"He was pissed off," Hernandez said of Arum, with a laugh. "He couldn't believe it and I think the fans are the best judges, and they all congratulated me, and I'm sad."
As fans filed out of the arena after Castillo's fourth round stoppage of Corrales, hordes of fans would come over to Hernandez and his wife with their condolences, while at the same time asking for autographs and posing for pictures. It seemed to lift his spirits, but as he talked about the fight and the decision, you could still feel his heartbreak.
The fight itself got off to a blistering start, with Pacquiao giving Hernandez fits with his quick left cross and right hook. But soon, Hernandez would be controlling the action.
"He was a totally weird style, even for a lefty," he explained. "But I believe from the third and fourth round on I was just putting on the pressure and I thought I took it maybe by four points."
His trainer, Rudy Hernandez, had no doubts as to who won their fight.
"I feel like we could go another ten rounds. I thought we did enough to win at least seven or eight rounds and should've gotten the decision. But at the end, it's the judges who make that call."
Arum, a full three days after the stench of the decision had worn off, was still incensed.
"I mean.... it was crazy," said Arum, grasping for words that would properly project his disgust. "It was nuts! I mean the fight started off real good and competitive and then I was talking to the people around me, the Showtime people and so forth and I said, 'Well, it started off competitive but too bad it's become a blowout'. It was a one-sided fight."
Hernandez-Pacquiao did make some history, though. It was the first time in memory that a trainer, Freddie Roach, admitted that his fighter had lost.
"So did the manager," said Arum. "I mean everybody, anybody who watched it, it was a joke!!! And the thing that's really bad, I can see one official having a bad night, but two guys on the same fight?!?! Something smells."
Unfortunately, this is far from the first bad decision boxing has suffered from and it won't be the last. But in the state of Nevada, it always seems to be the same suspects that are involved in rendering these controversial rulings. You folks know who they are.
Isn't it time for some new blood (and a new set of eyes) to start judging these bouts in what is the most influential and important boxing jurisdiction in the world?
"I agree with you," says the veteran promoter. "This was the height of incompetence. And those two guys shouldn't be allowed to judge any kind of significant(fight). They should go back to four and six rounders, but that wouldn't be fair to four and six round guys."
So why do we keep seeing the same judges in Nevada over and over again?
"Well," reasoned Arum, "they were guys who had a track record of being judges, but they just can't judge anymore. They just can't judge; neither guy can judge
anymore."
So after all these years, why haven't we seen a new generation of arbiters in Nevada? It seems to be that we've seen some of the guys since the first Dempsey-Tunney fight.
"You saw one in that fight," pointed out Marc Ratner, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, of Hoyle, the dissenting voice that had Hernandez on top. "We're trying to develop them and it takes some time. It takes a lot of fours, sixes and eights, and certainly our judges are veteran judges, but just as it is in officiating in all sports, you always have to have new guys coming up, pushing the old guys."
Ratner would know, since he is a football official for the Mountain West conference. But it seems in other sports, referees and umpires seem to be held much more accountable for their actions than boxing judges.
But Ratner says that the jobs of judging fights are not permanent.
"These aren't supreme court appointees," he says. It only seems that way, I guess.
But Ratner refrains from making blanket statements on the bout and it's scoring because, "I haven't seen any of the replays," he admitted. "That night I was in and out, back and forth and I probably only saw four complete rounds. I just had too much going on in the back." But he adds, "Everybody I talked to, certainly the majority of the people had Hernandez winning the fight."
Currently he is on a short vacation in Oregon, but Ratner says that he will view the bout in it's entirety on video. After every card in Nevada, big or small, Ratner meets with his commission members and goes over their performance. He said on Saturday night that Hernandez-Pacquiao, "was the only fight we discussed." But since he couldn't see the whole ten rounds, he would reserve judgment on the scores of Ford and Giampa.
But he did add, "I had quite a few reporters that night come over to me and say, 'Man, that was a pretty easy win for Hernandez.'"
Unfortunately, it will be a loss on the official record of Hernandez, his second in a row. What does his future look like at 34 years old?
"I wish him (Pacquiao) the best, just like with Jesus Chavez, I wish them all the best, but I don't know," admitted Hernandez, contemplating his career path. "I have to sit down and see what's going to happen. I'm getting old and I can't stand it, this is two in a row. It hurts and I don't want to say something and regret what I said.
"So of course I would like to fight him again, but who knows if that happens. Who knows if they'll fight me."
Don't count out retirement.
"When we went back to the lockeroom, he said that he felt he was a slight second too slow," said his trainer. "And I told him, 'Y'know what? Maybe it's the time. It's time when you take a big step back and say that enough is enough.' I think he should retire. If he feels a split second behind, than he's got no business fighting anymore."
If he should continue to fight on, Arum says this latest bout will not affect his standing in the marketplace.
"As far as everybody's concerned, he won the fight. So I look at it as a victory." But don't expect a second bout between the two. "No need for a rematch because it was a one-sided fight."
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