THE Games and Amusement Board of the Philippines on Monday wrote the World Boxing Organization, requesting for a thorough review of the recent WBO welterweight championship bout between Filipino Manny Pacquiao and Australian Jeff Horn that resulted in a controversial unanimous decision win for the latter.
Horn, who was credited more for his aggression than his clear, solid punches, won in all the scorecards of the three judges against Pacquiao on Sunday at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.
Punchstats showed that Pacquiao landed more solid blows and had more scoring jabs.
“We would like to echo the stand of many boxing followers on the possible errors of the referee and the judges, who officiated the fight,” said the GAB letter signed by Chairman Abraham Kahlil Mitra and commissioners Eduard Trinidad and Matthew Gaston.
The agency clarified though that the letter was not intended to seek a reversal of the outcome of the bout but merely to identify the possible errors on the part of the referees or judges, who officiated the fight.
“While we respect the decision, we are constrained to request for a thorough review by the WBO to identify possible miscalls of the referee, where some deductions were not made and of the judges in their judging that have caused varying opinions on their objectivity,” the letter said.
At most, the GAB is hoping for possible sanctions on the officials “if warranted, in furtherance of our mutual goal of protecting the integrity of the sport and even more, improving the boxing industry that we all love.”
The result of the bout also didn’t sit well with netizens, including celebrities like former NBA star Kobe Bryant and Holywood actor Samuel Jackson, who posted their reactions on Twitter.
In an interview, Mitra said they are doing the formal complaint to the WBO on its own initiative.
“We feel that somebody should do something about it and not just complain or post on social media. As the government’s professional sports regulatory body, we feel that we should act on this even without the consent of Sen. Manny Pacquiao who is the most affected as we don’t want this to happen again to him or any other Filipino boxer fighting abroad,” Mitra explained.
“For the protection of the public and to answer the clamor, we moved to communicate with the authorities. That’s why we are taking this initiative,” said Mitra, who personally witnessed the bout in Brisbane together with commissioners Trinidad and Gaston.
Mitra added that Pacquiao “is a gentleman and statesman that he won’t complain, that’s why we’re taking this initiative as a government agency doing its job.”