Daughter of Filipino referee says Pacquiao cheating statement 'misconstrued, misinterpreted'
MANILA, Philippines — The daughter of now controversial referee Carlos Padilla has called the statements where his father admitted helping Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao win a fight in 2000 as "misconstrued" and "misinterpreted".
In a letter addressed to the "boxing community of the world", Suzy Padilla Tuano came to defense of the 88-year-old referee who was shoved into the center of attention after a recent interview during his induction to the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame.
"My father is an 88 year old man who is just that — old and aging. Despite the fact that he has been living in the United States for decades, English remains his 2nd language," the letter read.
"Communications can be misconstrued and well intentioned words can be misinterpreted. The present situation is one such glaring example of what might actually have been said, (no pun intended), and what may have been taken out of context," she continued.
Padilla had said in the interview that during Pacquiao's fight against Australian Nedal Hussein back on Oct. 10, 2000 at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo, which he officiated, he had taken more time in giving Pacquiao the mandatory eight-count, when the Filipino boxer was knocked down during the 4th round.
Pacquiao was the clear favorite in his fight against Hussein.
He also said that he declared an ugly cut under Hussain's left eye as being caused by a punch from Pacquiao, instead of a head butt — which is crucial as gashes caused by legal blows can result in a TKO win for the fighter who dealt it if the fight gets stopped by the doctor.
This was the more damning of two admissions as Pacquiao ended up being declared winner by TKO in the 10th round after the ringside doctor deemed Hussein unfit to continue because of that cut.
Tuano jumped to his father's defense and backed up the Hall of Fame-bound referee's integrity in his work.
"My father is a decent and honorable man. He dedicated his life to boxing and boxers and cared for them and their well being, regardless of nationality or circumstance," she said.
"He refereed numerous historic fights with the likes of Muhammad Ali, Hagler, Leonard, Hearns, and many more fighters for the entirety of his career. He has since retired and has been out of the spotlight for as long as I can remember. Oh, but he loves to talk and entertain because like any other human, he still yearns to feel relevant. I invite everyone to ask about Carlos Padilla among his peers: promoters, fighters, referees, or anyone from his era and hopefully, you will learn about my father's true character," she continued.
"He does not need controversies at this very late stage in his life."
Since the letter, who was received by the World Boxing Council (WBC), they said that they will establish a "special panel" to review the situation about Padilla.
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman said that he can "certainly emphatize" with the referee's daughter.
"I will personally follow the process in the meantime, the WBC will not make any futher public comments," Sulaiman said in WBC's statement.
- Latest
- Trending
