Anatomy of a scorecard: Pacquiao vs. Bradley

Express-News boxing writer John Whisler breaks down the three scorecards from the Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley fight on June 9. Bradley won in a controversial split-decision. Bradley won 115-113 on two scorecards, while losing by the same margin on the third:

- Most rounds in boxing are scored 10-9, meaning the fighter winning a round receives a 10 from judges while the loser of the round gets a 9. In rounds with a knockdown, a point is deducted every time a fighter is knocked down. Note that all rounds in Pacquiao-Bradley were 10-9, as there were no knockdowns in the fight.

- According to CompuBox statistics, Pacquiao landed more punches than Bradley in every round but one, the 9th (26-25). Note that all three judges awarded that round to Bradley, even though Pacquiao was busier and landed more power shots (22-21). One round, the 10th, was even in punches landed with 14 apiece.

- The scoring in Round 5 was highly questionable. Note that C.J. Ross and Duane Ford both scored it for Bradley even though Pacquiao outlanded Bradley 22-8 in the round, including 18-4 in power punches. Pacquiao landed a clean left in the final 35 seconds and Bradley had to hold on.

- The fact that all three judges scored Round 7 for Bradley seems unfathomable. According to CompuBox, Pacquiao outlanded Bradley 27-11 in the round, 22-9 in power punches. Pacquiao clearly won an exchange at the end of the second minute and drilled Bradley clean on the chin repeatedly in the final 30 seconds.

- In Round 8, Ross and Ford favored Bradley, despite CompuBox statistics showing Pacquiao landed more punches, 15-9, including 12-7 in power shots. What were Ross and Ford watching? One plausible explanation although flawed could be activity. Bradley was busier in the round, throwing 70 punches to Pacquiao's 59. But a round should be scored on punches landed, not punches thrown.

- In Round 12, all three judges scored it for Bradley, even though Pacquiao landed 20 punches in the round to 15 for Bradley. Is this plausible? Yes. CompuBox statistics show Pacquiao landed just one more power shot (11-10) than Bradley. But Pacquiao appeared to land the more significant punches, including a right hook flush on the jaw of Bradley in mid-round and a straight left with 10 seconds left, which seemed enough to carry the round.

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Anatomy of a scorecard: Pacquiao vs. Bradley

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