—Saint Augustine
By Alex P. Vidal
THE confirmation made by retired international boxing referee Carlos “Sonny” Padilla Jr. that he helped rob Aussie visitor Nedal Hussein of a victory to save Manny Pacquiao from a knockout loss in a WBC international championship 22 years ago in Manila, can be compared to the confession of a dying criminal.
Pardon my comparison, but I was among those who were jolted by Padilla’s belated confession as he only confirmed what we had known about that controversial bout that happened two decades ago.
The 88-year-old former movie actor, whose last known address was in Las Vegas, may not be under duress when he admitted the scam in a video that became viral, but he must have been bothered by his conscience.
Or he was only reckless and became too much talkative as he gets older.
We admire his honesty though even if his embarrassing admission would surely taint his reputation and blot Pacquiao’s legacy in one way or the other.
Let’s hope he isn’t dying literally.
It was actually a bizarre interview as Padilla was caught laughing while confessing he declared a cut from a headbutt as having come from a legitimate punch, which eventually resulted in a 10th round TKO win for Pacquiao.
The so-called long count he made on then 22-year-old Pacquiao, who was decked by Hussein with a clean punch in their 12-round WBC international super-bantamweight fisticuffs on October 14, 2000, was not actually a secret among those who understood boxing.
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Because of that anomaly, Padilla was actually hated by Australian fans and disrespected by Hussein’s trainer Jeff Fenech, a former world bantamweight champion from Australia, who knows a lot about boxing’s red light district.
Padilla’s act of dishonesty occurred in the fourth round when Hussein delivered a coup de grace that sent Pacquiao to the canvas, forcing a 10-count.
But Padilla, before the horrified Australian and Filipino fans, allowed Pacquiao as long as 18 seconds to get up after being dazed, and let the contest continue despite Hussein's protests. Fenech, a known ring hooligan, nearly attacked him.
The father of actress Zsa Zsa Padilla is now in the limelight once again for admitting he gave a long count after being told that it was an important bout for Pacquiao to win, as well as making other moves that hindered Hussein's ability to win.
Pacquiao’s controversial win over Hussein came eight months before he was given a world title shot in the IBF crown held by Lehlo Ledwaba in Las Vegas, where he made a good account of himself.
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“Manny was not a world champion yet, he was only good in the Philippines,” Padilla said in a recent interview with the WBC's YouTube channel, which has now been made private. "That fight, I'm about to go and leave the following day and they told me 'Carlos, please-this is an important fight for Pacquiao, because the winner will have the chance to fight for the world championship'.
“So, you know the opponent, Hussein, or whatever his name was. He is taller, younger, stronger, and a dirty fighter, managed by Jeff Fenech. So in the seventh round, I think [it was the fourth round], Manny got knocked down, I thought he was going to get up, but his eyes were cross-eyed.
"I am Filipino, and everybody watching the fight is Filipino, so I prolonged the count. I know how to do it. When he got up, I told him, ‘Hey, are you okay?’ Still prolonging the fight. ‘Are you okay?’ ‘Okay, fight!’ and then Hussein……because Manny was not like Manny is now, he wasn’t trained by Freddie Roach yet, he holds on for his dear life, and the guy throws him, and he went down again. I said to the opponent, ‘Hey, you don’t do this.’ You know, I was prolonging the fight. ‘You don’t do that. Okay, judges, (point) deduction'."
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)
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