Disgrace to boxing

International Boxing Federation (IBF) superbantamweight champion Manny Pacquiao returns home tonight with his head held high. He wasn’t the last man standing in the ring at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco last Saturday night (Sunday morning, Manila) but he should’ve been.

The split draw meant both Pacquiao and World Boxing Organization (WBO) titleholder Agapito Sanchez of the Dominican Republic retained their belts. So there were two men left standing, not one.

I couldn’t believe the decision. I kept score from the first round and saw Pacquiao on top by four, 58-54, at the end of six. I gave four rounds to Pacquiao and two – the first and second – to Sanchez. Ricardo Bays of Florida was the only sane judge in the panel. Bays saw it 58-54 for Pacquiao. Marshall Walker of California scored it 55-57 for Sanchez, awarding five rounds to the Dominican and only one to Pacquiao. Raul Armando Caiz of Texas gave four rounds to Sanchez and two to Pacquiao but because of the Dominican’s two-point deductions, had it a 56-56 draw.

Ironically, referee Marty Denkin – whom I called a loose cannon in my column last Sunday – saved the day for Pacquiao. If he hadn’t slapped a pair of point deductions on Sanchez, Pacquiao would’ve lost on a split decision. Still, Denkin must be castigated for failing to control the fight. He allowed Sanchez to repeatedly throw low blows. And why wasn’t Sanchez deducted a point for opening a cut on Pacquiao’s right eyelid with a butt in the second round? And why wasn’t Sanchez deducted a point for the butt that caused the fight to end in the sixth?

Denkin waved it off at 1:12 of the sixth but the full round was scored – a quirk in the unified championship rules. Since the round was reflected in the scorecards, Denkin should’ve slapped another point deduction on Sanchez for opening the cut that led to the stoppage.

Denkin, 67, worked his 154th world title fight. Obviously, he hasn’t learned from experience. Or he may be too old, too slow to think decisively in the ring. Wasn’t Denkin once hauled to court to answer charges of extortion?

Does Denkin hold a grudge against Filipinos? In 1969, he came to Manila to accompany his protégé Ruben Navarro in a fight against Rene Barrientos of Cagayan de Oro for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) superfeatherweight title. Navarro lost a close decision which embittered Denkin. The same Denkin robbed Gerry Peñalosa of a win over In Joo Cho in their WBC superflyweight title rematch in Seoul last year.

If Denkin had’ve slapped deductions on Sanchez for opening two cuts with butts, Pacquiao would’ve won by a majority decision.

No question, Pacquiao deserved to win even if he occasionally fought like a wildman. Sanchez’ dirty tactics caused Pacquiao to lose his cool. The Dominican was out to distract Pacquiao and derail his fight-plan. To a certain extent, Sanchez was successful in that respect. Instead of methodically cutting down Sanchez, Pacquiao often lunged and tried to land a big punch in anger.

All three judges scored the first two rounds for Sanchez. No disagreement there. But starting the third round, it was all Pacquiao. Sanchez had a point deducted for rubbing the back of his glove on Pacquiao’s right eyelid cut in the third round – in boxing parlance, that’s called cuffing. Denkin slapped another point deduction after Sanchez struck Pacquiao on the left leg in the fourth. Despite Sanchez’ foul tactics, Pacquiao never stooped to the Dominican’s level – he didn’t retaliate by fighting dirty. While Sanchez was a disgrace to boxing, Pacquiao was a credit – in stark contrast.

In the fifth, Pacquiao opened a cut over Sanchez’ left eye with a clear punch. Before Denkin stepped in to stop the fight in the sixth, Pacquiao dominated the action. I figured that if the fight had’ve lasted up to the eighth or ninth, Sanchez would’ve gone down for good. He was slowing down and wasn’t throwing as much leather when Denkin called a halt to the bloody brawl.

Writer Mark Butcher said it was "the most foul-infested 5 1/2 rounds in recent boxing memory."

Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach said a rematch is out of the question and called for the revocation of Sanchez’ license. Pacquiao has nothing to prove against Sanchez. Whether Denkin and two of the three judges like it or not, he beat the Dominican fair and square.

When Pacquiao comes home tonight, let’s welcome him back as a national hero.