Pacquiao-Bradley II judges to receive intense scrutiny 

Eyes will be on the three judges who will work the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley title rematch on April 12 (April 13, PHL time), all of whom were officially named on Wednesday by the Nevada Athletic State Commission.

Assigned to score the 12-round match for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight championship match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas are veterans Glenn Trowbridge of Nevada, John Keane of England, and Michael Pernick of Florida.

The third man in the ring will be Kenny Bayless, the same official who counted Pacquiao out during his stunning sixth-round knockout loss at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez two years ago.

The three judges are expected to be under the spotlight again following the controversy that marred the first Pacquiao-Bradley fight, which the American won by a controversial split decision.

Despite the Filipino boxing superstar seemingly in control of his 2012 match against Bradley, two of the judges - CJ Ross and Duane Ford - scored it in favor of the unbeaten American, with Jerry Roth seeing the bout in favor of Pacquiao, 115-113.

Ford is no longer actively judging fights, while Ross stepped away from the sport after she scored the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Saul Alvarez light-middleweight championship showdown even at 114-114, notwithstanding the obvious dominance of Floyd Jr.  

“They're fine,” said Top Rank Promotions’ Bob Arum of the three judges handpicked for Pacquiao-Bradley II. “We gave both camps a list of the judges, and the fighters knocked off some of the judges. These judges and the referee were among those acceptable to both sides from the approved list.”

This will be the first time the three judges will be working a Bradley fight, although all of them have been previously involved in a Pacquiao bout.

Pernick recently worked on the eight-time world champion’s match with Brandon Rios, scoring it in favor of the Pacman, 120-108.

Keane on the other hand, had Pacquiao ahead by a point when Marquez pulled off the shocking sixth round knockout over his longtime rival in their 2012 showdown, while Trowbridge favored the Filipino by score of 116-112 over the Mexican during their 2011 meeting, which Pacquiao won by majority decision. - Gerry Ramos, SPIN