The Case Of HBO Nuthuggery
By Jason Petock, Doghouse Boxing (June 27, 2012) Doghouse Boxing (Photo © German Villasenor)
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Timothy Bradley
There has been an extremely viral YouTube video as of late that has been circulating around the internet among boxing circles. In the clip (*embedded below for viewing), the editor/maker of the clip inadvertently intends to showcase what they deem as having really happened in the now sensationally over-hyped and increasingly controversial and heavily talked about bout between reigning WBO Welterweight Champion Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley 29-0 (12) and Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao 54-4-2 (38) which occurred on June 9th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The reason it is inadvertent is because the creator actually puts a disclaimer with the video stating, “This video is NOT about who won the fight, nor is it really about the fight.” A somewhat contradictive statement to be honest here. Without a doubt the captured images are definitively about the fight. The video showcases several times where Manny Pacquiao clearly misses an evasive and defensive Timothy Bradley, as “Desert Storm” bobs, weaves, and ducks from the left hand of “Pac Man,” a punch that misses its intended target time and time again during their fight. The vignette is well put together by an apparently somewhat trained sports eye, as the misses of Pacquiao are clear cut and highlighted with accuracy, unlike the punches themselves. It gives the case for argument for Timothy Bradley and his oft questioned victory even if the YouTube feature is only 14:58 long with some filler for emphasis.
Yet the main focus of the piece itself is to bring to the attention of the boxing public the immediate fact that HBO tends to broadcast fights and deliver boxing contests, particularly through their sportscaster’s somewhat distorted viewpoints, in a manner that is slightly biased. You see, the network is huge on building stars with star power at any cost, even if the methods they use aren’t necessarily always the best. They tried to feed it to the public before with Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor 30-4-1 (18) back in 2005, as they screwed over boxing legend Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins 52-6-2 (32), who became one of many in a long line of victims who fell prey to the networks ridiculousness over the years. Real boxing fans knew at the time that Hopkins beat Taylor, although the network would have you believe otherwise. That’s the real skill of their silver tongued ringside commentators, they can sell you shit even when you can smell it, they’re just that good. With the Bradley and Pacquiao fight, it was pretty palpable that as they called the fight they were all over “Pac Man’s” nuts. Let’s cut the bullshit for a minute, shall we? Pacquiao draws a crowd and gets the ratings and money for those who want it most. With every punch he throws he hits his opponent, at least according to the HBO commentators anyway. Bradley did do a bang up job in moving his head and avoiding several of Pacquiao’s punches. The whole fight was sloppy at best and the thought of them doing it again should make anyone’s stomach curdle a little. No thanks.
Now congratulations should solidly be extended to Timothy Bradley. The decision in his fight against Manny Pacquiao was in no way his fault. He’s a boxer and won a Championship. It’s just that simple. He’s trained and worked so hard his entire life to get to this point only to have it belittled and questioned repeatedly. This isn’t to say that there aren’t some valid assumptions and viewpoints surrounding what happened. Yet Bradley shouldn’t be the one to have to answer to anyone. It’s so easy for us to sit back as armchair boxers and say this and that about fighters. Tell me, would you be willing to give up a Championship title that you worked your whole life for because of someone else’s errors in judgment? Maybe to Bradley he did win the bout? The judges have already been looked into and they’re not budging so as it stands he did. Case closed. But HBO is probably frothing at the mouth at a potential rematch where Pacquiao rises from the ashes like the proverbial Filipino phoenix to reclaim his title in dramatic fashion from the antagonist Bradley. It plays out like the low budget melodrama that no one wants to see. Bradley should fight other top fighters in the division and leave Pacquiao to Mayweather (won’t happen). That would be the true test of not only his skills in the ring but prove as a validation of his current Championship standing.
The clip on YouTube is called “Boxing: A Tale Of HBO Nuthuggery,” and if not anything else it is a little eye-opening, though at times it can become annoying as well. Look it up (*or view it above on this page). Take it for what it’s worth. At least someone had the nerve to mention something that we have all known for far too long, and that is when HBO airs a fight and one of their darlings is fighting expect the bullshit to fly. In fact, sometimes it gets so thick that you need to keep your boots on. “Yes men” work for the networks for a reason. They don’t ask questions, don’t really care about the sport or its competitors (outside of using the boxers accomplishments to further their own analytic hyperbole), and pervert the sport with their incessant bias and almost legally blind boxing breakdown. No one is perfect but you would expect the egos at HBO to get it right at least some of the time. Trainer Emeritus Emanuel Steward is the only credible person on any one of their broadcasts, and with the exception of the occasional boxer here and there, such as either Roy Jones, Jr. 55-8 (40) or Lennox “The Lion” Lewis 41-2-1 (32), their ranks are filled with drunks, women abusers, failed rappers and blind old men who never fought a day in their life. The network has their hands so far up these guys’ asses that all they can taste anymore is Vaseline. Open your eyes people. Save our sport.
Jason can be reached with your questions, concerns, gripes, moans, complaints, insults or kudos at
BoxingWarrior[USER=30659]@hot[/USER]mail.com. Your feedback is appreciated as always. Stay honest and keep punching.