Like anything and everything human, boxing has its limitations. The tipping point beyond which it is bound to fail. The very nature of the sport imposes a perimeter on a boxer and extends over the discipline per se. But, throughout its rough and tumble history, the sweet science has been through phases that shook its foundations. To what extent former Filipino referee Carlos Padilla’s expose will stir boxing, even a tippler’s dice may not foretell.

Former referee Carlos Padilla Jr poured his heart out during an interview posted by WBC on its YouTube channel.

On 14th October 2000, twenty-one-year-old Manny Pacquiao met Australian Nedal Hussein at Ynares Center in Antipolo. “PacMan” was going to defend the WBC International Super Bantamweight title for the third time.

The twelve-round match wound up in the early minutes of the tenth. Growing concerns over the cut on Nedal’s face forced the doctor to declare him unfit to fight further.

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The revelations of the former actor and referee Carlos Padilla refocused the attention on the bout. In addition, a recent burst of articles and online chatter has given new life to an event few people remember.

Manny Pacquiao versus Nedal ‘Skinny’ Hussein, 2000

Analyzing the interview, live streaming platform DAZN’s Boxing show on YouTube had referee par excellence Jack Reiss and WBC President Mauricio Suleiman on the panel along with hosts Akin “AK” Reyes and Kamal Barak Bess. Reiss gained the spotlight for deducting two points against Logan Paul for punching the back of his opponent’s head.

The discussion opened with questions about Padilla’s motives. The Filipino was unable to recall with accuracy, which Reiss suspected was due to mental issues. However, ruling out any benefit of the doubt that the former deserved, host Barak said, “It was a little bit too detailed, you know, too detailed about many parts of that particular fight for me to say, alright, this is a mental health issue or something like that….”

Taking the point, Reiss added his expert opinion, “So the the crime in this, is not that the whole incident took 20 seconds the crime in this is that Padilla took 16 seconds to get to his eight count that’s what he stretched out…”

However, that’s not the whole story. Padilla deducted a point from Hussein for throwing an elbow while tied up with Pacquiao. He recalled trying to gain extra time for Pacquiao, now appearing tired and incoherent.

The demoralizing story was far from over. Hussein suffered a gash above his left eye in the tenth round. Stopping the fight, Padilla declared a punch as the cause. Pulling a rabbit out of the hat, the referee confessed in the interview that a headbutt caused the wound. Pacquiao faced a point deduction if he did not report.

The Final Act of Carlos Padilla Jr.

Later, Carlos Padilla Jr., who refereed the famous “Thrilla in Manila” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, claimed that he convinced the doctor to stop the fight.

Padilla revealed chilling details about a call he received just before the fight but did not say from whom. He was told Pacquiao had to win against Hussein to have another shot at the championship.

While bruised, Nedal returned home; he could never recover on the global stage despite winning Australia-wide contests. He was sad and upset when Padilla’s interview went on air.

On the other hand, Manny went from bout to bout, slaying one big name after another.

The absence of modern technology could be an excuse for the prevalence of such fraudulent instances going undetected in the past. But every advancement begets a deterrent. Hence, in the interest of avoiding aspersions on the sport, transparency should be the best approach.

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