Could it be that the career of one of the greatest boxers in modern times and a national hero of the Philippines has all been built on a lie? It seems that is indeed the case. The reason being a corrupt referee.
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| https://sports.inquirer.net/487960/ref-admits-he-cheated-to-help-pacquiao-win |
It has long been an open secret—fans joked about the obvious long count in the aftermath of a fight in 2000.
And in the years that followed, the joke lost its punch, flattened by the frequency of its retelling and the eventual incomparable career of one Manny Pacquiao.
Until the World Boxing Council (WBC) uploaded a video that featured renowned Filipino referee Carlos Padilla admitting he facilitated a rigged result in Pacquiao’s infamous fight against Australian Nadal Hussein.
“So, you know the opponent, Hussein, or whatever his name was. He is taller, younger, stronger and a dirty fighter, managed by Jeff Fenech. So in the [fourth round], Manny got knocked down, I thought he was going to get up, but his eyes were cross-eyed,” Padilla said in a video on the WBC’s YouTube channel that has since been taken down.
“I am Filipino, and everybody watching the fight is Filipino, so I prolonged the count. I know how to do it,” Padilla said after taking nearly twice as long to count to 10. “When he got up, I told him, ‘Hey, are you okay?’ Still prolonging the fight. ‘Are you okay?’ ‘Okay, fight!’”
It turns out this not a new revelation but an old inside...joke? Was the WBC unaware of what the fans new all along? Padilla admits he prolonged the count out of solidarity for being a Filipino. But he wasn't just a Filipino as we shall see.
“[B]ecause Manny was not like Manny is now, he wasn’t trained by Freddie Roach yet, he holds on for his dear life, and [Hussein] throws him, and he went down again. I said to the opponent, ‘Hey, you don’t do this.’ You know, I was prolonging the fight. ‘You don’t do that. Okay, judges, [point] deduction.’”
To cap it off, Padilla also admitted forcing the outcome when he ruled a head butt as a punch, resulting in the 10-round TKO win for Pacquiao.
“[B]ecause he is shorter, he headbutted the other guy and there is a cut, but I declared it a punch. If there is a headbutt, you have to stop the fight and declare to the judges a point deduction, but I didn’t do that, meaning the fight could continue. [The cut] is not really big—but I never got the doctor to check it [because] I want to see it serious,” Padilla said.
Pacquiao could not be reached for comment.
So, Manny headbutted his opponent and the referee called it a punch!? How did the WBC ever let this ruling stand?
Hussein, however, had a lot to say, particularly on how both fighters’ paths diverged after that bout.
“I can’t say Pacquiao’s career would never have been the same, but it would have been derailed, that’s for sure,” Hussein said.
After that, the Australian didn’t have much of a career, failing to win a world championship. He eventually settled for a career in sales.
Pacquiao’s career bloomed the following year when he was picked as a replacement fighter on two weeks’ notice to face Lehlo Ledwaba in the undercard of a fight scheduled at MGM Grand in Las Vegas that featured Oscar de la Hoya in the main event. Pacquiao hammered out a sixth-round stoppage in that fight for the International Boxing Federation junior featherweight to engineer one of the finest runs in boxing history.
Hussein said his camp smelled something fishy early on and accused the organizers of using a loophole to slide Padilla into the referee’s position.
“With the referee, the terms were there was going to be an Australian judge, a Filipino judge and a Korean judge. Then they said the referee was going to be American. But … [Padilla] was an American-Filipino. So because he was an American citizen, they had their loophole.
“He was a Filipino all along. But it wasn’t supposed to be an issue because he was based in America. But we didn’t know anything about it until the last minute, to be honest.”
Ah, the perks of dual citizenship! Padilla was not supposed to referee but only snuck in because he is also an American which created a loophole.
It would certainly be wrong to pin the blame on Manny Pacquiao when the decision here is solely the responsibility of Padilla.
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| https://news.yahoo.com/manny-pacquiao-breaks-silence-referee-173956934.html |
Speaking to ABS-CBN’s "TV Patrol," Pacquiao denied being involved in any way with Padilla's decision-making.
“I did not cheat. We were just probably favored because of home court [advantage],” the former Philippine senator told TV Patrol. “As a boxer, I just did what I needed to do. I’m a boxer. I only do my job inside the ring. That is his problem, not mine.”
The WBC has not yet released a formal statement but has formed a panel to review Padilla's remarks. His daughter claims his statements have been misinterpreted.
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| https://www.philstar.com/sports/2022/12/01/2227820/daughter-filipino-referee-says-pacquiao-cheating-statement-misconstrued-misinterpreted |
The daughter of now controversial referee Carlos Padilla has called the statements where his father admitted helping Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao win a fight in 2000 as "misconstrued" and "misinterpreted".
In a letter addressed to the "boxing community of the world", Suzy Padilla Tuano came to defense of the 88-year-old referee who was shoved into the center of attention after a recent interview during his induction to the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame.
"My father is an 88 year old man who is just that — old and aging. Despite the fact that he has been living in the United States for decades, English remains his 2nd language," the letter read.
"Communications can be misconstrued and well intentioned words can be misinterpreted. The present situation is one such glaring example of what might actually have been said, (no pun intended), and what may have been taken out of context," she continued.
"My father is a decent and honorable man. He dedicated his life to boxing and boxers and cared for them and their well being, regardless of nationality or circumstance," she said.
"He refereed numerous historic fights with the likes of Muhammad Ali, Hagler, Leonard, Hearns, and many more fighters for the entirety of his career. He has since retired and has been out of the spotlight for as long as I can remember. Oh, but he loves to talk and entertain because like any other human, he still yearns to feel relevant. I invite everyone to ask about Carlos Padilla among his peers: promoters, fighters, referees, or anyone from his era and hopefully, you will learn about my father's true character," she continued.
"He does not need controversies at this very late stage in his life."
It's hard to see how anything Carlos Padilla said has been taken out of context. Watch the interview for yourself.
The talk about the Manny Pacquiao fight begins at 17:36.
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