“In sport, you only see the fighter, but it’s teamwork. Without a good team, you will never be the best. In boxing, you have to work with the best coach, the best lawyer, the best manager, the best doctor. Exactly the same principle applies in politics.” –Vitali Klitschko

Senator Manny Pacquiao’s split decision win over Keith Thurman over the weekend was seen as glorious and exciting as the Filipino boxer’s TKO win over Lucas Matthysse and unanimous decision victory over Adrien Broner. The Pinoy boxer’s duel against Thurman was action-packed, toe-to-toe, brutal, and had the makings of a “Fight of the Year.” In fact, it was sweeter than a knockout due to the quality of action and because it is the only split decision in his ring ledger that has not been protested.
Pacquiao’s only other split decision victory was against Juan Manuel Marquez in their rematch on March 15, 2008. The fight was smeared by a terrible protest and condemnation from Team Marquez that insisted the dynamite-fisted Mexican boxer “out-shuttled” and out-punched the then-29-year-old ring icon from General Santos City. They also claimed Pacquiao “looked more like the real loser.”
Much like his fight against Thurman, the Filipino southpaw also scored a flash knockdown in the third round. Marquez, a “durable warrior,” quickly rebounded and because of Team Marquez’s insistence and persistence, the Mexican fighter was awarded two more multi-million fights against Pacquiao (losing the third via majority decision and winning the fourth in a sixth round knockout).
The other split decision in Pacquiao’s record was just as controversial 12-round loss to Timothy Bradley, Jr. on June 9, 2012. In that highly-disputed defeat, nobody believed Bradley had won except Bradley himself, who entered the post-fight press conference in a wheelchair.
Pacquiao eventually settled the matter with a unanimous decision win in their rematch on April 9, 2016.
His recent win was as explosive and bloody as the split decision win against Marquez, but Thurman and his team did not question the verdict; Team Thurman did not denounce the two judges who awarded Pacquiao identical 115-112 scores. The former champion from Clearwater, Florida showed tremendous sportsmanship and professionalism in accepting the split decision defeat; he even acknowledged Pacquiao’s ferocity and talent.
Thurman said: “I felt I tested him and myself. The judges saw it their way and now Manny Pacquiao is the champion. It just hit me in the right spot and had me bleeding—it didn’t bother me too much. I was focused on putting pressure but he was quite conservative. I really thought I was putting pressure on him but my numbers were not up to par. There was so much going on and in that moment I knew it would be difficult to get the judges on my side. I was obviously hurt in that fight. That’s boxing and, obviously, he was well prepared. He started with the knockdown in the first and then the body shot in the end was enough to convince the judges. I thought I would be able to do some countering and pressure him. Some of the things I wanted to do I did. Put I came up short in the numbers game. It was a blessing and a lesson to have a tremendous fight. Of course, I wanted to win the fight and I fell short. I do know that I’m a true champion. I will be back to the top in the sport of boxing. Keith Thurman brings out the best in the welterweight division.”
That statement made Thurman’s split decision loss so unique from Pacquiao’s earlier split decision results with Marquez and Bradley, which has earned Thurman respect from pundits and boxing fans.

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Alex P. Vidal, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo./WDJ