Manny the Great

Manny the Great

by rick olivares

He is a man on top of the world and clearly is at the height of his power. He is modern-day Alexander the Great. Yet unlike the Macedonian, he isn’t weeping because he has nothing left to conquer after all there’s still a host of foes out there.

As the placard that some fans at the MGM Grand Arena read: “De La Hoya – X. Hatton – X. Cotto – X. Mayweather you’re neXt.”

The circus and madness that surrounds Manny Pacquiao is much like what follows the icons of our time --- Michael Jordan, David Beckham, and Tiger Woods to name a few. They are in the eye of a storm of unprecedented media coverage, endorsements galore, and the subject of gossip items both real and the stuff of slanderous fiction. Perhaps, the only source of relief is once he steps inside the ring. And that was so obvious when the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer finally made his way from his dressing room at the MGM Grand Arena to the ring. His face glowed with a joy as if to say, “Finally, we can get it on.”

Or was it more of “Let’s get this over with. I’ve got a concert later?”

Manny may smile a lot because he sure has a lot to be thankful for. But that’s also because no one has yet been able to wipe that off his kisser.

He may have a good word for everyone but deep inside of him lies an assassin’s heart. When Miguel Cotto said that he was going to beat the Filipino at the weigh in (even boxing analysts predicted that Cotto would stop the rampaging Mexicutioner in his tracks), all that the former challenger to the Puerto Rican’s World Boxing Organization Welterweight belt had to say was, “he was a tough guy and it’s going to be one heck of a fight.”

Manny and Freddie Roach can hear all of the slights perceived or real (remember how Floyd Mayweather Sr. taunted Roach during the press conference of the Pacquiao-Hatton fight). They store that in the back of their minds. As Roach said then and now, “We do our talking inside the ring.”

When Cotto made his way to the ring, tattoos, if-looks-could-kill look and all, it seemed that the sold out arena was going to witness a mixed martial arts match. But when Pacquiao entered earlier, he entered once more to AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” that segued into Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” from the movie Rocky IV. If anyone noticed, Pacman was smiling.

When referee Kenny Bayless told both fighters to touch their gloves and go, Pacquiao ditched the smile for the eye of the tiger.

When Cotto grabbed Pacquiao and put his forearm on the Filipino’s nape in the first couple of rounds, the Pacman was royally miffed. After Cotto got decked in the fourth round, the Puerto Rican fought a delaying action – float away and sting like an annoying bee.

Cotto had knocked out nine of his foes after the sixth round. Manny had only managed four.

However, since he rebounded mightily from his first encounter loss to Erik Morales, Pacquiao rattled off 10 impressive wins by mowing down four world champions in that span. And perhaps more tellingly, he finished off four of those fighters with a minute to go in late round action. That meant that Manny not only cold finish off foes early but he could go the distance with the best of them and retain serious knockout power. Cotto no doubt about it, had to know that.

After a feeling-out first round to get the measure of the champ’s power, Pacquiao dropped the smile proceeded to rain 372 punches on the champ with over 250 of them loaded for bear. After the 11^th round, trainer Joe Santiago asked his bloody and nearly broken fighter to throw in the towel. “One more round,” said the beleaguered champ although one can’t be sure if it was a question or a statement.

If Cotto was hoping to get lucky with a punch that would allow him to retain his (he did get in a few good licks at the Filipino), it turned into another opportunity for Pacman to further tenderize him.

Bayless, the best referee in the business today, has officiated several of Pacquiao’s fights. Four of them to be exact. He let Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez duke it out in their return engagement. He saw Ricky Hatton floored in two last May. This time, with Cotto’s face being remade by Pacman’s fists, 55 seconds into the final round was enough. He waved off the fight and Pacquiao raced to his corner in prayer then into the arms of his trainer Buboy Fernandez with that smile – this time with unbridled joy.

Manny Pacquiao, was World Champeen in a seventh different weight class. He had one more than Oscar de la Hoya who he sent into retirement when the Golden Boy refused to answer the 9^th Round bell in their mega-fight in December 2008.

If Bill Russell is the Lord of the Rings, the Filipino is the Beltmaster. The only thing lacking is a black belt. Who says that isn’t possible? General Santos City’s most famous son is an excellent basketball, billiards, and darts player. Who knows how good he can be if he puts his mind to things?

When famed boxing writer and analyst Bert Sugar interviewed a Pacquiao who had showered and dressed up (although with his head taped and bandaged from some solid hits by the dethroned Cotto) some time after the fight, he asked the new Welterweight Champ how could he had been so confident about winning to have arranged for a concert way long before Firepower Saturday got underway.

Manny smiled and simply said without a trace of arrogance that he knew he’d win and that he wanted to sing for his fans.

The new WBO Welterweight Champion smiled.

It’s good to be the king.