International boxing matches should prevent match officials like referrees from being of the same nationality as the competing boxers.
Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua had this to say Sunday. Dec. 4 as he sympathized with retired Filipino boxing referee Carlos Padilla, who recently,grabbed headlines by admitting that he "cheated" to help a 21-year-old Pacquiao beat Nedal Hussein over two decades ago.
"I believe Referee Carlos Padilla should not have been placed in that position of officiating in a boxing match where one of the protagonists was a Filipino," Chua said.
"Any international professional boxing governing body should have rules to make sure none of the match officials—the referee, judges, and others at ringside—are of the same nationality as either of the boxers in the ring," the Manila congressman reckoned.
"I would also add that our Games and Amusement Board, which approves professional sports events, should have insisted on this to preclude any perception of bias on the part of any official and on the part of the host country, the Philippines," Chua added.
Pacquiao fought the then-undefeated Hussein on home soil in October 2003. Padilla, who was the third man in the ring, claimed that he gave Pacquiao a long count to allow the latter to survive after the latter was knocked down by Australian foe.
The Filipino slugger would eventually win the bout against Hussein and make his breakthrough in the United States (US) by conquering Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera three years later.
"The injustice here was by the system that allowed Ref Padilla to be put in that predicament and bear that pressure he found himself in. The injustice here was against Ref Padilla, the boxers in the ring, and the boxing fans," Chua further said.
Pacquiao would eventually become boxing's only eight-division champion. He is also a former congressman and senator.
He ran for president during the May 2022 national elections, but lost.