Manny Pacquiao took a shocking loss at the hands of Jeff Horn on Sunday in Australia, a controversial decision in what looked like an obvious win for one of the sport’s legends.
Pacquiao, seeking to continue getting his boxing career back on track, took up the fight with Horn in what many perceived as a launching pad to bigger fights in the coming years.
Then the decision came in and smacked of hometown bias.
Pacquiao now agrees the decision should come under review, according to ESPN.com:
While Pacquiao has accepted his defeat to Horn, who fought in his first world title bout in the “Battle of Brisbane,” the Philippine senator said in a statement Wednesday that he had a “moral obligation to uphold sportsmanship, truth and fairness.”
“I love boxing, and I don’t want to see it dying because of unfair decision and officiating,” he added.
It’s hard to know if anything would come of the review given boxing’s recent history under similar scrutiny.
The review is at least worth a shot—fans of the sport were treated to one of the best fights in years and for free on television as an added bonus. The judges ignoring questionable hits and headbutts followed by what seemed like a miserable decision deflated the entire aura of the event and had critics once again pointing out the sport’s obvious problems.
Alas, Pacqauio and fans now sit in limbo while wondering if the WBO will at least start a review.
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