It's easy to understand why Bob Arum wants an investigation into a possible conspiracy in the wake of the controversial decision in Saturday night's WBO welterweight title match between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley. The decision has been universally criticized as one of the worst in boxing history, and a conspiracy theory is almost a fair explanation of how it was that Bradley was announced as the winner of the fight.
However, Arum's insistence that there won't be a rematch between Pacquiao and Bradley unless such an investigation takes place is incredibly short-sighted, and stands to do much more harm to boxing than it would good.
Let's set aside, for a moment, the matter of what actually happened on Saturday night at the MGM Grand. Ringside judges Duane Ford and C.J. Ross may be the only two people on the planet who saw the fight for Bradley, but it happened. It can't be undone. The smart promotional move is to figure out the best way forward for the fighters, the sport, and yes, the promoter.
That best way forward isn't an investigation. It's a rematch.
What we have, after all, is a champion who has been railroaded out of his title, fans who know the truth, and an opportunity to see justice done in the ring. It's the sort of storyline that Vince McMahon has milked on many occasions to make his pro wrestling business successful, except with one key difference: it's real. A rematch between the two stands to draw in many more eyeballs than the first encounter, as sports fans who didn't care to watch the first bout will be drawn in by the controversial ending. As poor as their decision was, Ford and Ross effectively gave Arum a license to print money, which he seems reluctant to use.
In a sense, it is understandable that Arum would want an investigation if the end result could be the overturning of the decision. As it stands, the loss is Pacquiao's first in seven years. If truly seen as a loss, it might take away momentum from the push to make the much-awaited superfight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. The reality is, however, that Ford and Ross are just about the only ones who see the fight as a loss for Pacquiao, and it shouldn't make a difference in the efforts to book Mayweather-Pacquiao.
In Mayweather-Pacquiao, however, boxing already has one easily saleable fight that it can't put together. By standing in the way of another, Bob Arum is doing the sport far more harm than good.
