While being billed as the ‘Fight of the Century’ days after the Pacquiao-Mayweather welterweight fight unfolded in Las Vegas, it’s now being called the ‘Scam of the Century,’ and ‘Scandal of the Century.’
Yesterday, in an unprecedented move, the Nevada Athletic Commission voided the unanimous decision win by Mayweather over Pacquiao.
“There’s just too many missteps leading to and during the fight and we cannot sit here and just do nothing,” Commission Chairman Francisco Aguilar told reporters.
In voiding the fight results, Aguilar presented a laundry list of what went wrong:
– Pacquiao’s camp did not disclose the boxer’s rotator cuff injury in the pre-fight medical questionnaire.
– Pacquiao alleges that he was denied a legal injection to relieve the pain from his injured shoulder.
– Both Pacquiao and Mayweather should have been examined by an independent medical doctor but were not.
– While both boxers weighed under 147 pounds during the official weigh-in on Friday, they weighed way over the welterweight maximum weight on Saturday.
– The judges’ summary scoresheet was not filled out correctly, casting doubt on whether it was Mayweather or Pacquiao who scored higher.
– There were more hugs than punches during the 12-round fight, especially by Mayweather.
– Both camps violated a new commission rule that no celebrities are allowed as part of the boxers’ official entourage. Mayweather had Justin Bieber in his entourage while Pacquiao had late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.
– Three national anthems were sung during the fight — U.S., Philippine and Mexican national anthems. The singing of the Mexican anthem misled many spectators and television viewers to think that Pacquiao was Mexican.
Aguilar also said that numerous lawsuits against Pacquiao, the boxing promoter and even the Nevada Athletic Commission have started to emerge, and “it is the commission’s responsibility to protect and preserve the integrity of professional boxing.”
The move is black eye for the sport, which once dominated professional athletics but has fallen by the wayside due to corruption and the emergence of rival fighting series UFC.
Both Mayweather and Pacquiao, through their representatives, declined to comment on the decision.
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