December 4 ------ RETIRED Filipino referee Carlos Padilla revealed he gave boxing legend Manny Pacquiao a big favor during his controversial 2000 fight against Aussie Nedal Hussein.
Padilla admitted he gave Pacquiao a long count after being dropped in the fourth round by Hussein during their WBC International super-bantamweight title fight at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. The referee admitted he gave Pacquiao a mandatory 10-count, but added eight more for an 18-second count before letting the fight resume.
Pacquiao, already a established fighter but a rising star back then, went on to win the fight by TKO in the 10th round. "That fight, I'm about to go and leave the following day, and they told me, 'Carlos, please this is an important fight for Pacquiao because the winner will have the chance to fight for the world championship," said Padilla in an interview posted on the WBC's YouTube channel that has since been taken down.
Padilla described Hussein as 'taller, younger, stronger, and a dirty fighter handled by Aussie legend Jeff Fenech." "I think (it was the fourth round), Manny got knocked down, I thought he was going to get up, but his eyes were cross-eyed," said Padilla in between laughs. "I am Filipino and everybody watching the fight is 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!"
Text messages sent to the Pacquiao camp have yet to get a reply at post time. Pacquiao was still handled back then by his late manager Rod Nazario and trained by long-time friend Buboy Fernandez and Emil Romano.
In the same interview, Padilla said he ordered a point deduction on Hussein for throwing Pacquiao down since he felt the Filipino couldn’t t win the fight even if it lasts the distance. At the same time, Padilla said Pacquiao headbutted Hussein but he declared it as a legal punch. Initially, he didn't let the doctor take a look at the cut, because as he claimed, he wants the cut to get serious. By the time Padilla let the ring doctor check the cut, the referee finally waved off the fight to give Pacquiao the TKO win.
Less than a year later, Pacquiao claimed the IBF super-bantamweight title with a sixth round knockout of the late Lehlohonolo Ledwaba at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The stunner against Ledwaba would be the springboard for Pacquiao to be the boxing icon he would become later.
Padilla was recently inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame.
Source: spin.ph