Manny Pacquiao Gets Ripped Off [NoeBrainer]

Manny Pacquiao (and boxing) got hosed on Saturday night as the decision went to Timothy Bradley.  Why doesn't boxing have a scoreboard?

Manny Pacquiao was able to land many more punches than his opponent Timothy Bradley on Saturday night in Las Vegas.  Pacquiao outlanded Bradley 253-159 in total punches.  He also had a 190-108 edge in power shots landed on Bradley.  Although Pacquiao outlanded Bradley in 10 of 12 rounds, two of the three judges gave Bradley a 115-113 edge in the fight.  Brutal.

I started thinking about the Pacquiao catastrophe and wondered why boxing doesn't have a scoreboard.  Seriously, why not?  Both fighters would know exactly where they stand in the fight on the judge's scorecards.  Pacquiao would have known that the judges were blind and that the fight was up for grabs.  Football has a scoreboard.  Basketball has a scoreboard.  Baseball has a scoreboard.  You know exactly where the game stands.  Why not boxing?

Are there drawbacks?  Sure, if a fighter knows he is leading by a large margin, he might start to slow down the fight.  Big deal.  This happens in football.  Teams kneel on the ball at the end of the game, but the world keeps rotating.  I think it would add a lot of drama to the final rounds if a fighter needs a knockout to win, or if the fight is completely up for grabs heading into the final round. 

The drama that would be lost by revealing the decision after the fight is completed doesn't trump the drama of fans being aware that the fight is up for grabs thanks to a scoreboard.  Plus, boxing is a declining sport.  It's popularity is dwindling.  Why not do something different that would add drama to the sport?  It makes sense to me.

Brian Noe is the Brand Manager at 104.5 The Team, ESPN Radio in Albany, NY.  Brian also hosts “The Noe Show” each weekday from 1-3pm ET on WTMM.