The surprising and controversial result of Saturday night's welterweight title fight -- a split decision victory for Timothy Bradley against Manny Pacquiao -- stunned and angered boxing fans and experts alike.
In the aftermath, there appear to be two major takeaways. No. 1: Manny Pacquiao deserved to win. No. 2: The dream of Pacquiao-Mayweather will never be the same.
More Pacquiao-Bradley Coverage From SBN
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Bryan A. Graham addressed the unjust result on SI.com:
After everything he's done for boxing, Manny Pacquiao is the last person who should have been cheated like this. He deserved better. [...]
There's little question that he's past his peak: the Pacquiao of three years ago would have closed the show in the fourth round, when he had Bradley caroming off the ropes and holding on dear life after unloading a fusillade of punches from angles that defied geometry.
But even the 33-year-old Pacquiao did more than enough to win. It just doesn't seem right that he loses his first fight in nearly eight years on a night when he looked so rejuvenated, so renewed with vigor.
Read the full story here: Pacquiao deserved better than unjust ending against Bradley
Looking forward, Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix sees a depressing crystal ball.
Goodbye, Pacquiao-Mayweather. You will never, ever be the same. We could still see that fight happen, and there will always be plenty of money in it. But win or lose, the takeaway from this fight for me is that Pacquiao has lost something off his fastball. We thought we saw it against Juan Manuel Marquez, and it was confirmed tonight. The Pacquiao I saw fight Miguel Cotto walked through punches, threw savage body shots, fired heavy head shots. It just didn’t seem like Pacquiao could put together the punches with the same speed or ferocity like he has used to. It’s disappointing, because we will never know what a Pacquiao-Mayweather in their prime fight would have looked like. And that is the biggest blow to boxing.
Read the full story: Three thoughts from Pacquiao-Bradley
Can't get enough fight reactions? There's plenty more at SB Nation's boxing community, Bad Left Hook.
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