By Cliff Rold
The reviews are in and judges Duane Ford and CJ Ross get two thumbs down from most of the boxing community. Given consideration of the quality of opponent he had in front of him, Manny Pacquiao gave arguably his best showing since the Miguel Cotto fight in 2009. Faced with a Timothy Bradley determined not to fall, Pacquiao boxed more than he has in any fight since the Marco Antonio Barrera rematch.
Pacquiao won, bare minimum, at least eight rounds to anyone with vision the right side of none.
Going into the Bradley fight, Pacquiao remained in the top slot of the pound-for-pound ratings. Should a universally blasted verdict affect that?
Regular readers can guess the answer. If this scribe strongly disagrees with a decision, his eyes come first. Screw bad judges.
In this first update since March, Pacquiao-Bradley isn’t the only verdict to consider. Timothy Bradley, previously rated tenth, was game and gritty but outclassed versus Pacquiao. A rematch may answer whether foot and ankle injuries played a role. For now, he exits.
The great Bernard Hopkins joins him outside. Hopkins finally succumbed to the challenge of Chad Dawson. Hopkins, nearing 50, doesn’t look the part of one of the worlds very best at the moment but, if he has another big upset in him, it would be no surprise.
And what of Carl Froch, rated before a loss to Andre Ward and emphatically triumphant against Lucian Bute? Does he return?
You know the drill.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel, the Yahoo Pound for Pound voting panel, and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com