A Filipino referee by the name of Carlos Padilla has admitted to helping Manny Pacquiao during the WBC bantamweight title fight. in the year 2000. Pacquiao has quickly come out to deny the referee’s statements alleging that he did not cheat against his rival, Nedal Hussein.
“I didn’t cheat. Probably (the referee) favored me for fighting at home,” Pacquiao told local media outlet Tv Patrol on Friday. defending himself against Filipino referee Carlos Padilla’s allegations that he received help during a bout against Australia’s Nedal Hussein in October 2000 outside Manila.
In the interview published by the WBC, Padilla revealed that he intentionally favored Pacquiao after he gave Pac-Man more seconds. to recover after Hussein had sent him to the canvas and allowed the Filipino to recover. He confessed that he did it because “many Filipinos were watching the fight.”
Pacquiao recovered from the possible knockout and took the opportunity to defeat Hussein and take the fight to win the WBC bantamweight title, so he came out to declare that he won the fight fair and square more than 20 years ago.
“I am a boxer, I just do my job inside the ring. That (the trap) is his problem, not mine ”, added the 43-year-old Filipino boxer.
The controversial fight is considered key to Pacquiao’s brilliant career, since thanks to it he was able to defend the bantamweight title twice, as well as change categories and face super bantamweight champion Lehlo Ledwaba in 2001, in a fight that would catapult him to international fame.
Pacquiao is a boxing legend who has won 12 titles in 8 different categories and has won titles in the flyweight, super bantamweight, featherweight, super featherweight, lightweight, super lightweight, welterweight and super welterweight categories.
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