INAMIN ni retired Filipino boxing referee at hall of famer na si Carlos Padilla na minsan na niyang niluto ang isang laban ng Pambansang Kamao na si Manny Pacquiao.
Ayon sa kanyang panayam sa World Boxing Council na mapapanood sa YouTube, ang kontrobersyal na laban ay nangyari noong 2000 sa Antipolo City kung saan siya ang nagsilbing referee sa pagtutuos ng Pambansang Kamao at ng Australian fighter na si Nedal Hussein.
“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 [fourth round], Manny got knocked down, I thought he was going to get up, but his eyes were cross-eyed,” paglalahad ni Carlos.
Aniya, dahil kapwa Pilipino niya ito, binagalan raw niya ang pagbilang ng standing eight-count kay Pacquiao nang bumagsak ito sa round 4 ng kanilang laban.
“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’,” saad pa ni Carlos.
Dagdag pa niya, nakiusap rin daw kasi ang kampo nina Pacquiao na sana ay iayon sa kanya ang resulta ng laban para makatuntong ito at makalaban sa world championship.
“Because Manny was not like Manny is now, he wasn’t trained by Freddie Roach yet, he holds on for his dear life, and [Hussein] 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,’” pagpapatuloy pa ni Carlos.
Kalaunan ay inamin naman ng retiradong referee na nanalo si Pacquiao via technical knockout o TKO sa ika-sampung round matapos niyang itigil ang laban dahil sa tinamong sugat ni Hussein sa kanyang pisngi.
“Because he is shorter he headbutted the other guy and there is a cut, but I declared it a punch. If there is a headbutt you have to stop the fight and declare to the judges a point deduction, but I didn’t do that, meaning the fight could continue. [The cut] is not really big—but I never got the doctor to check it [because] I want to see it serious,” sey pa ni Carlos.
Ang naturang pagkapanalo ni Manny Pacquiao ay malaking tulong sa kanyang pagbawi mula sa mga nagdaang pagkatalo at ang simula pag-angat ng kanyang boxing career kung saan nakilala siya bilang global boxing superstar magpasa-hanggang ngayon.
Samantala, wala pa namang inilalabas na pahayag ang Pambansang Kamao hinggil sa mga ibinunyag ni Carlos Padilla sa kanyang naging panayam sa World Boxing Council.
Bukas naman ang BANDERA para sa pahayag ng kampo ni Manny Pacquiao hinggil sa isyu.
Related Chika:
#ApatDapat: Apat na rason bakit wagi ang Pinoy sa Tokyo 2020 Olympics
Manny Pacquiao siga sa isang Korean variety show: ‘Who’s the boss here?!’
‘Pambansang Kamao’ meets ‘Pambansang Krung Krung’, Manny Pacquiao in demand sa South Korea
Manny Pacquiao may isyu sa pera; hindi pa bayad sa mga dating kasamahan pati kay Snow Badua