This will appear in the next issue of Free Press. It's my last piece on Manny for a while until I probably go to Gen San and have a sit down with him.
At the height of his powers, Manny Pacquiao has become the face of boxing
By Rick Olivares
The world is now his stage.
When Manny Pacquiao fights the world watches. Even old foes and trainers root for him. Just ask Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain who was in Oscar de la Hoya’s corner for years. Or even Erik Morales who did a commercial with the Champ.
The A-list crowd that normally sits at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles has taken time off from the Lakers’ run towards another National Basketball Association title to watch Manny in Las Vegas. Even those from the opposite coast who watch the New York Knicks or the Yankees were seen at the MGM Grand Arena.
And to think that Manny used to watch Jack Nicholson and Denzel Washington in movie theaters and in the comfort of his room. Now they’ve come to watch him.
Not bad for someone who stowed away on a ship to find his fame and fortune in Manila but instead realized it on the global arena.
The fight between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton clocked a shade less than six minutes.
Yet there’s so much to say, talk, or even write about.
There were more national anthems sung than rounds and they took just as long.
Fil-Am wrestler David Batista accompanied Manny to the ring.
Crooner Martin Nievera invited anger and criticism for his taking liberties with the National Anthem.
Michael Buffer, he of the stentorian voice that has opened many a rumble inside the ring introduced Pacquiao from Sarangani province instead of General Santos City. And he most notably added that Pacquiao (along with Hatton) had secured his place in the sport’s hall of fame before the fight got underway.
Oh, wait a minute… you mean there was actually a fight? It seems that Freddie Roach and Floyd Mayweather Sr. got it on more than the main protagonists.
The former International Boxing Organization (IBO) Junior Welterweight Champion fell for the oldest trick in the book when Manny kept showing him how powerful his right hook had become. And just when the Briton was protecting himself from another barrage of rights, he got suckered in with Pacquiao’s patented left cross that dumped him so much like a marionette that had its strings cut.
As it is the tale of the tape is thus: 2 rounds, 5 minutes and 59 seconds, 3 knockdowns, and 1 still very hungry Pacman who with an overall record of 49 wins (with 37 knockouts), 3 losses and 2 draws is threatening to remake the boxing landscape into his own.
After a career-defining win against de la Hoya, Pacquiao’s demolition of Hatton with three brutal knockdowns in two rounds cemented his status as the world’s best fighter today bar none.
And that includes the come backing Floyd Mayweather Jr. who announced his unretirement from the sport early during fight day to take on a Pacquiao foil in Juan Manuel Marquez this coming July.
But move over Angelo Dundee and Muhammad Ali. Make some room for the Pacman and his longtime trainer Freddie Roach as one of the best combos the Sweet Science has ever seen.
“That’s boxing,” was Floyd Mayweather Sr.’s glum excuse after the carnage.
Yes, it was boxing all right. A clinic of speed and power put on display by one man who continues to defy boxing logic. But it was also redemption for Roach who chafed at the verbal sparring between Mayweather Sr. and himself.
He should add in addition to “trainer” the title of “prophet” for his calling the end of England’s Hatton.
In the hunt of superlatives for Pacquiao let it be read here first that he should be considered the Tiger Woods of boxing. With his win over Hatton and his inclusion in Time Magazine’s list of the world’s most influential people, how could he not be?
He is… the first true Filipino global superstar and let no one tell you otherwise or else we will be forced to ask what in the world is that dissenter smoking. He has clearly eclipsed Gabriel “Flash” Elorde as the best Filipino boxer and is now in the realm as the greatest to come out of Asia.
And if he makes good on Bob Arum’s bold prediction that at the end of his career where he will be known as the greatest fighter that ever lived, then maybe Woods, with all due respect to him, could even possibly be said to be the Manny Pacquiao of golf.
Fil-Am compatriots Brian Viloria and Nonito Donaire, the respective International Boxing Federation (IBF) Junior Flyweight and IBO/IBF Flyweight Champions who only two weeks earlier both won huge fights of their own were in awe of Pacquiao’s victory. It’s not the win but how he defeated Hatton with such ease while showing his increased power and strength that was doubly impressive.
In two months of intense training, Pacquiao not only weathered the stinging criticism of an ugly spat with Solar Sports and GMA7, his local fight broadcasters, but also the shift to another weight class that also determined his fight preparation.
And he showed no ill effects of whatever. If anything, it showed a grim focus of an assassin.
Look at who he’s beaten in the past several years – most will be card carrying members of the sport’s Hall of Fame – Hatton, Oscar de la Hoya, David Diaz, Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Jorge Solis, Erik Morales, Oscar Larios, and Hector Velasquez.
Is there anyone else? Miguel Cotto? Floyd Mayweather Jr.? Humberto Soto? Maybe he’d like to take on World Boxing Council (WBC) Heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, a truly great fighter out of the former Soviet Union who for all his staggering victories lacks panache and the stuff of legend?
When fight interviewer Mario Lopez asked him what was next for him, Pacquiao eagerly said without batting an eyelash, “A vacation.”
It will be another two weeks of non-stop partying that awaits him upon his return to the Philippines. Of parades and tributes galore to the man who is the one genuine bright spot when the world “Filipino” is brought up today.
There will be much speculation about his newly amassed riches and his new pet projects. And whether his future political career will mean that he will be a fighting congressman out of Sarangani province or the eventual president of the republic that one Filipino bannered so proudly proclaimed in Las Vegas during the fight all remains to be seen.
In the meantime, the man who goes by the moniker of Pacman will fight on to further his legend ooh and ahhing audiences from everywhere.
Manny Pacquiao has taken center stage.
When Manny Pacquiao fights the world watches. Even old foes and trainers root for him. Just ask Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain who was in Oscar de la Hoya’s corner for years. Or even Erik Morales who did a commercial with the Champ.
The A-list crowd that normally sits at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles has taken time off from the Lakers’ run towards another National Basketball Association title to watch Manny in Las Vegas. Even those from the opposite coast who watch the New York Knicks or the Yankees were seen at the MGM Grand Arena.
And to think that Manny used to watch Jack Nicholson and Denzel Washington in movie theaters and in the comfort of his room. Now they’ve come to watch him.
Not bad for someone who stowed away on a ship to find his fame and fortune in Manila but instead realized it on the global arena.
The fight between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton clocked a shade less than six minutes.
Yet there’s so much to say, talk, or even write about.
There were more national anthems sung than rounds and they took just as long.
Fil-Am wrestler David Batista accompanied Manny to the ring.
Crooner Martin Nievera invited anger and criticism for his taking liberties with the National Anthem.
Michael Buffer, he of the stentorian voice that has opened many a rumble inside the ring introduced Pacquiao from Sarangani province instead of General Santos City. And he most notably added that Pacquiao (along with Hatton) had secured his place in the sport’s hall of fame before the fight got underway.
Oh, wait a minute… you mean there was actually a fight? It seems that Freddie Roach and Floyd Mayweather Sr. got it on more than the main protagonists.
The former International Boxing Organization (IBO) Junior Welterweight Champion fell for the oldest trick in the book when Manny kept showing him how powerful his right hook had become. And just when the Briton was protecting himself from another barrage of rights, he got suckered in with Pacquiao’s patented left cross that dumped him so much like a marionette that had its strings cut.
As it is the tale of the tape is thus: 2 rounds, 5 minutes and 59 seconds, 3 knockdowns, and 1 still very hungry Pacman who with an overall record of 49 wins (with 37 knockouts), 3 losses and 2 draws is threatening to remake the boxing landscape into his own.
After a career-defining win against de la Hoya, Pacquiao’s demolition of Hatton with three brutal knockdowns in two rounds cemented his status as the world’s best fighter today bar none.
And that includes the come backing Floyd Mayweather Jr. who announced his unretirement from the sport early during fight day to take on a Pacquiao foil in Juan Manuel Marquez this coming July.
But move over Angelo Dundee and Muhammad Ali. Make some room for the Pacman and his longtime trainer Freddie Roach as one of the best combos the Sweet Science has ever seen.
“That’s boxing,” was Floyd Mayweather Sr.’s glum excuse after the carnage.
Yes, it was boxing all right. A clinic of speed and power put on display by one man who continues to defy boxing logic. But it was also redemption for Roach who chafed at the verbal sparring between Mayweather Sr. and himself.
He should add in addition to “trainer” the title of “prophet” for his calling the end of England’s Hatton.
In the hunt of superlatives for Pacquiao let it be read here first that he should be considered the Tiger Woods of boxing. With his win over Hatton and his inclusion in Time Magazine’s list of the world’s most influential people, how could he not be?
He is… the first true Filipino global superstar and let no one tell you otherwise or else we will be forced to ask what in the world is that dissenter smoking. He has clearly eclipsed Gabriel “Flash” Elorde as the best Filipino boxer and is now in the realm as the greatest to come out of Asia.
And if he makes good on Bob Arum’s bold prediction that at the end of his career where he will be known as the greatest fighter that ever lived, then maybe Woods, with all due respect to him, could even possibly be said to be the Manny Pacquiao of golf.
Fil-Am compatriots Brian Viloria and Nonito Donaire, the respective International Boxing Federation (IBF) Junior Flyweight and IBO/IBF Flyweight Champions who only two weeks earlier both won huge fights of their own were in awe of Pacquiao’s victory. It’s not the win but how he defeated Hatton with such ease while showing his increased power and strength that was doubly impressive.
In two months of intense training, Pacquiao not only weathered the stinging criticism of an ugly spat with Solar Sports and GMA7, his local fight broadcasters, but also the shift to another weight class that also determined his fight preparation.
And he showed no ill effects of whatever. If anything, it showed a grim focus of an assassin.
Look at who he’s beaten in the past several years – most will be card carrying members of the sport’s Hall of Fame – Hatton, Oscar de la Hoya, David Diaz, Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Jorge Solis, Erik Morales, Oscar Larios, and Hector Velasquez.
Is there anyone else? Miguel Cotto? Floyd Mayweather Jr.? Humberto Soto? Maybe he’d like to take on World Boxing Council (WBC) Heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, a truly great fighter out of the former Soviet Union who for all his staggering victories lacks panache and the stuff of legend?
When fight interviewer Mario Lopez asked him what was next for him, Pacquiao eagerly said without batting an eyelash, “A vacation.”
It will be another two weeks of non-stop partying that awaits him upon his return to the Philippines. Of parades and tributes galore to the man who is the one genuine bright spot when the world “Filipino” is brought up today.
There will be much speculation about his newly amassed riches and his new pet projects. And whether his future political career will mean that he will be a fighting congressman out of Sarangani province or the eventual president of the republic that one Filipino bannered so proudly proclaimed in Las Vegas during the fight all remains to be seen.
In the meantime, the man who goes by the moniker of Pacman will fight on to further his legend ooh and ahhing audiences from everywhere.
Manny Pacquiao has taken center stage.
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