Floyd Sr.: Pac loss won't stop megafight

LAS VEGAS -- For what it's worth, Floyd Mayweather Sr. thought Manny Pacquiao won.

By Brett Okamoto | ESPN.com

Although Floyd Mayweather Jr. reportedly wasn't able to watch Pacquiao lose a highly controversial split decision to Timothy Bradley Jr. on Saturday -- the fighter is currently serving an 87-day jail sentence for reduced domestic battery charges -- his father was in attendance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Mayweather Sr. said he wasn't scoring the fight round by round, but admitted it was fairly clear to him that Pacquiao was well in control. Two judges disagreed, awarding Bradley seven of the 12 rounds.

"I thought Tim Bradley put up one helluva fight," Mayweather Sr. told ESPN.com. "But I didn't think he won the fight.

"I didn't score the fight. I can just tell you, I knew Pacquiao won. I felt he won the fight. I felt like there was a gap, where you could see who was winning."

When asked if he could even make a case for Bradley winning the fight, Mayweather Sr. said he could not because he's not "a cheater."

The result of the fight likely means Pacquiao will exercise his rematch clause and meet Bradley again in November. It all but erases any shot of Pacquiao meeting Mayweather, a fight boxing fans have long pined for, in 2012.

Mayweather Sr., who no longer trains his son but has reestablished a relationship with him, acknowledged the likely rematch in November, but offered optimism -- from his perspective -- that a fight between the top two fighters in the world will still happen.

Speculating on his son's likely reaction to the news that Pacquiao lost, Mayweather Sr. shrugged.

"Floyd ain't thinking about it," Mayweather Sr. said.

"When Mayweather and Pacquiao are getting ready to fight, it's going to be as big as ever anyway. When they fight, it's going to be the biggest ever. I say when, because there's a good possibility that fight will take place.

Judges Duane Ford and C.J. Ross were the two Nevada State Athletic Commission judges who awarded the fight to Bradley. Judge Jerry Roth scored the fight 115-113 in favor of Pacquiao.

"I think they had their eyes closed," Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, said of the judges. "Something wasn't right, because what everyone else saw and what they saw were two different things."

The majority of those in attendance also heavily disputed the result. Top Rank's Bob Arum -- who promotes both Pacquiao and Bradley -- said it was "bad for the sport," and added he had never been so ashamed.

Pacquiao, when asked if he felt he won, responded, "no doubt."

Ringside statistics supported Pacquiao. Compubox stats reported Pacquiao outlanded Bradley in the fight 253 to 159, including a 190-to-108 advantage in power punches. Pacquiao landed 34 percent of his total punches, compared to Bradley's 19 percent.

Brett Okamoto

Source:  espn.go.com/blog/Boxing/post/_/id/1304/floyd-sr-pac-loss-wont-stop-megafight