Team Marquez has no leg to stand on in argument

By Robert Morales

It's a crying shame that two recent fights that could compete for Fight of the Year are being tarnished by controversy when there really is none.

The latest episode was played out in Saturday's post-fight news conference when Juan Manuel Marquez and the rest of his camp vehemently complained about losing a split decision to Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao took Marquez's super featherweight world title at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

It really hurts boxing when the loser whines about what the judges as well as every veteran reporter thought was a close fight, regardless of who they had winning.

It's worse when innuendo is doled out by the losing promoter. Such was the case when Richard Schaefer, CEO of Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, told a packed room of reporters and friends and family of the two fighters that he wondered why one of the judges had been changed a week before the fight. Schaefer made it a point to say that judge scored the fight for Pacquiao.

Turned out Dick Flaherty was replaced by Tom Miller. Not because of any funny business. Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, informed us that Flaherty is a friend of Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach, as well as a friend of Roach's mother. It was Roach who told Arum about the conflict of interest and Arum said he told the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Thus Flaherty's move to the semi-main event between Steven Luevano and Terdsak Jandaeng.

"Freddie Roach is a damn honest man," Arum said in the heat of Saturday's late-night post-fight rhubarb, which included a shouting match between Arum and Jaime Quintana, Marquez's Mexican promoter.

There was nothing rotten in Denmark in this fight. Not in any way, shape or form. Bottom line is, Pacquiao won a very close fight. Marquez lost one. Period.

Ironically, Marquez stood at the dais and said he thought something was wrong with boxing. It was incredible. He was in an extremely close fight that could have gone either way. The way he was talking, one would have thought he had just knocked the holy heck out of Pacquiao.

Something's wrong in boxing, all right, and this needless bellyaching is it.

Now, in one way it is understandable that Marquez was filled with emotion. After all, he had a draw and a loss to show for two terrific performances against the man most reporters consider no worse than the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

But Marquez's manager and trainer, Nacho Beristain, and Quintana have made a habit out of moaning about close fights. They are the twosome who also handle Marquez's younger brother, Rafael. He lost a narrow decision in a thriller against Israel Vazquez on March 1 in Carson, Calif., and they had their crybaby hats on after that one, too.

It was particularly disappointing to see Schaefer go on like he did late Saturday night. The Golden Boy hierarchy has gone on record many times as saying it wants to change boxing, that it wants to do things the right way. This is, after all, a sport that has always been suspect as far as being above board, even if its nefarious ways have been exaggerated.
When Golden Boy executives say they want to be a stand-up organization, we believe they are genuine. But for Schaefer to support another crying jag by the Marquez family was not cool and it only gives more ammunition to those fans who believe the sport is corrupt.

If this had been say, Steve Forbes against Demetrius Hopkins, then there would be something to snivel about. Hopkins was scored a wide-decision winner in a fight he obviously lost big in March 2007 at Mandalay Bay.

By the way, Golden Boy Promotions did that fight. It promotes Hopkins, nephew of Bernard Hopkins. But we don't think for one second that Golden Boy had anything to do with one of the worst decisions in recent times. And no one has gone around suggesting that.
And again, that decision was egregious.

Saturday's was not. Schaefer should have extinguished the situation, yet he fueled the fire.
This is one of the things wrong with boxing. But it's easily fixed if those who are supposed to have the cooler heads - meaning promoters rather than the fighters who just went through 12 rounds of hell - will just accept it when a close decision does not go their way.

One more time. There is no controversy when a fight is close.

Hopefully, people are listening.

Arum is no angel. He has done his share of grumbling after close fights that did not pan out for him and his Top Rank Inc. He admitted as much Saturday night.

It'll be very interesting to see what takes place the next time Arum is on the short end of the stick in a high-profile fight. Considering what took place Saturday, something tells us he will go to great pains to be cool. Schaefer, too.

If they think twice before going off, that will be a good thing.