• Manny Pacquiao v Timothy Bradley

Arum unmoved on rematch despite WBO verdict

ESPN staff
June 22, 2012
Timothy Bradley beat Manny Pacquiao on points to take the WBO welterweight crown © Getty Images
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Promoter Bob Arum still feels another Manny Pacquiao v Timothy Bradley fight would be hard to organise - even after the WBO recommended a rematch.

Following the controversy that erupted over Bradley's points victory in the first meeting, the WBO held a video review of the clash with five international judges, who unanimously agreed Pacquiao should have been awarded the win.

Pacquiao has also hinted he is eager to face Bradley again, commenting: "My supporters shouldn't worry. We're going to get that title [the WBO welterweight crown]."

However, Arum has insisted throughout the saga that a rematch would be a tough sell because he believes the initial contest was too one-sided - although he concedes that if Pacquiao wants it, he will bow to his fighter's demands.

"Obviously, he's the boss, he's the fighter, and to the extent possible, I'll do what he says," Arum said to Yahoo! Sports. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have his loyalty. I have to talk to him, though, and make certain he understands all the ramifications, [and see] if he is aware of what the public's perception is. I would have to have, if I were going to do a rematch, an investigation, which is ongoing with the attorney general's office, to clarify the situation.

"If it was simply the incompetence of the judges and a simple mistake, period, which is what you and I suspect, and they determine there is no wrongdoing, that's easy to remedy. All we do is have a rematch with different judges.

"Absent that, given all this suspicion, no matter how unwarranted, it would be hard to do a rematch. Half of these websites are saying that the promoter is the one who did this and that I talked to these judges. I had nothing whatsoever to do with picking them and never talked to them."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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