Famous boxing referee admits to cheating by giving Pacquiao 18-second count
Boxing referee Carlos Padilla has claimed he helped Manny Pacquaio win a famous fight by giving him an astonishing 18-second count.
Padilla enjoyed a great career and is most famed for being the man in the middle for the Thrilla in Manilla between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
However one of his most infamous fights came 25 years later when he officiated an up and coming Pacquiao against Nedal Hussein in 2000.
The Filipino was a big name in his home country but was yet to make it Stateside and took on Hussein for the WBC international title.
During the fight, Pacquiao fought back from an early knockdown to win via a late TKO but Hussein has long questioned the officiating and replays have since shown the Filipino was given a long count.
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Padilla has now admitted to doing so and claims he was told to help Pacquiao win the fight, with Australian boxer Hussein branding the referee a 'putrid dog'.
Speaking to the WBC's official YouTube channel, the former referee said: "I am Filipino and everybody watching the fight is Fillipino, so I prolonged the count. I know how to do it."
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Padilla claims he prolonged the fight on several occasions and even failed to deduct a point from Pacquiao after he headbutted Hussein, instead using the cut sustained to award the fight in his favour.
"Because he is shorter he headbutted the other guy and there is a cut but I declared it a punch. If there is a headbutt you have to stop the fight and declare to the judges a point deduction, but I didn't do that, meaning the fight could continue," he added.
"I said "better knock that guy out Manny, because we may be in trouble". The guy was strong.
"I told the doctor to reposition himself to the neutral corner, I looked at him and he already sensed what I mean. He went over the ropes and [gestures looking at Hussein before waving it off].'
Unsurprisingly Hussein was left incandescent by the admission and responded to the clip on Instagram. He wrote: "The putrid dog admitted to cheating me."
Pacquiao would famously go on to enjoy a stellar boxing career while Hussein won 43 of his 48 fights before becoming a car salesman in Australia.
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