A few days before the Manny Pacquiao-Jeff Horn titular confrontation , handlers of the then Filipino reigning and defending welterweight titlist were quoted as saying the Australian challenger didn ’ t do his homework well in reference to Horn not training against superior sparring partners in the United States in preparation for the 12-round fight held last Sunday before a massive 51,052 crowd at the cavernous Suncorp Arena in Brisbane .

After the smoke of battle had extinguished , however , it turned out they were the ones remised in their job to prepare the eight-division champion as they should have . Why , they even belittled the now new world welterweight champion ’ s sparring mate Czar Amonpon . They . too , ignored Horn trainer Glenn Rushton ’ s warning the camp was preparing a 10-point plan on how to beat the 147-pound belt owner .

Pacquiao ’ s team failed to realize that that 10-point ploy included the ell-worn attackclinch-hold-headlock strategy Horn exploited to the hilt from the opening round on to the last with the full permission of referee Mark Nelson . Horn even added his own version of the arsenal strangling Pacquiao in the neck whenever chance arose and headbutting .

All throughout the training camp held in Manila and General Santos City , Freddie Roach and company concentrated on how Pacquiao will chase Horn , who they expected to do a Floyd Mayweather ploy – run as soon as he felt the title defender ’ s power punches , which , of course , didn ’ t happen as Horn found the Rushton strategy very effective in catching his opponent ’ s game plan off balance .

But come to think of it , why , in the first place , was the fighting Philippine senator had to go to Australia to defend his title ? As the

crown-holder , isn ’ t it his right to choose the place where he should defend it ? As champion , he should have also given the priority to choose who the third man should be in the ring along him and his challenger . And the judges , too . Was our own Pacman given those rights ? Me thinks somebody has to answer those questions .

The fight was similar to Pacquiao ’ s first of three encounters with then undefeated Timothy Bradley in 2012 that also ended in controversy forcing the World Boxing Organization to initiated an inquiry by creating a five-man panel which found the outcome anomalous and shameful . It did not reverse though Bradley ’ s win as he remained champion until dethroned by the Filipino himselftwo year later .

Will boxing ’ s regulatory body again conduct similar probe owing to the equally unfavourable reaction from media and fans alike worldwide ? In a survey conducted by media outfit among press people

who covered the fight , 55 out of 67 interviewed expressed belief , rightfully so , that Pacquiao should have won . Only seven voted for Horn . Four saw the fight ending in draw . Two believed Pacquiao was robbed of victory .

Sports editors , writers and broadcasters deplored the Four Blind Mice – referee Nelson , and judges Waleska Roldan of New York , Chris Flores of Arizona and Ramon Cerdan of Agentina forms handling the job assigned to them . They blamed Nelson of Minnesota , a veteran of refereeing 80 world title fights , for not even warning Horn for elbowing , headocking , and headbutting repeatedly all throughout the 12- round showdwn .

While a few accepted Flores ’ Cerdan ’ s identical 115-113 decision favoring Horn as reasonable , many believed Roldan ’ s 117-111 verdict was , to say the least , ridiculous if not completely anomalous . Roldan only gave Pacquiao three rounds while the other two had the Filipino icon leading in five rounds . ●