March 21, 2005. I was patiently waiting for the BIG event last Sunday when I got a call from him. He said that he knows the result already from his Tito Fred who watched the Morales v. Pacquiao match without the never-ending commercials [on satellite TV, I guess and not on cable.] From the tone of his voice, he has already revealed what I feared most –our champ lost to the formidable Morales. I wasn’t too excited to watch the battle anymore –I was supposed to go to NSG to have a good feel of the crowd and cheer our modern day hero, but I stayed home and reviewed the match with a sullen face.
Round 5 and both boxers are even with two rounds each, but the fire was in Morales’ eyes. Morales continued to dictate the pace and opened a deep gash over Pacquiao’s right eye. I’m not sure about Morales’ track record but he didn’t look like a dirty fighter. Unintentional head butt or not, the Latin boxer gave straights that connected the islands of Samar and Leyte more than the San Juanico Bridge. Most of Erik’s vital punches landed… and landed hard. Training Pacquiao’s right dubbed as the Manila Ice appeared to have melt inside the “wrong” gloves even before the hits landed. With a heart bigger than Rocky Balboa’s, Pacquiao came out more aggressively despite blood dripping over his right eye which caused him to fight like a pirate. Both boxers took turns hurting each other. Pacquiao’s jabs and hits on his opponent’s torso made Morales beat and bruised… Pacquiao seemed to pick up a second wind in the last three rounds leaving Morales staggering in the last round. In the end, Morales scored a unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Erik “El Terrible” Morales was NOT unstoppable. I’m definite that Pacquiao could have beaten him without the external factors. Pacquiao is bigger than the wrong set of mittens or a vertical cut. But external factors like business matters [purse of $1.7 M and chance to live abroad] and career management showed to be damaging to his fight record. Morales visibly had a larger frame than our main man and had a longer reach. It is not an inexcusable hurdle but Pacquiao could have put to good use a tune-up fight since it was a new weight class. He might have moved up the ladder too soon, that’s why a prep game would have tested the capacity of Pacman’s batteries. Morales profited from his match against Barrera. It made his jaw thick as granite and his mindset out on a vengeance. He learned from his defeat and I believe our fighter might have taken a pointer too. 2nd note, it would have been a better match if leftie fought a leftie. [They were developing the right because Morales is expecting the left... would it take too much brain cells to figure out that the manila surprise, after all the publicity, is Manny's right?] Why fix something that isn’t broken? Pacman’s left has always been the clincher so why develop the right hand in two months time and without a baptismal of fire? The Manila Ice should have been punctured with an ice pick or clamp before it can turn into an ice pack that quenches a terrible fever. Morales has changed the name Dengue… and it took more than a Manila Ice to control the virus.
Fighters should be thinking about their strategy [stick to the game plan if must], attack mode and defense. Boxers should not be distracted by matters unnecessary in the ring like the purse or boxing collateral. It’s elemental that the fighter’s mind should also be conditioned. The fight is in the four corners of the ring, not outside of it. . For whatever reason, I didn’t see the fervor in Pacquiao’s stance nor the vehemence of his punches. Nevertheless, Pacquiao has displayed that he was fashioned from Champion material when he not only survived the 12 rounds but also fought out his guts to the bitter end. Most of his skills and strategies weren’t exhibited but he maintained his world-class grace. [Manny, please don’t request for a rematch in 6 months time. You and Freddy Roach are back in the drawing board and you need to be in the winner’s bracket before you fight Morales again. Even if you have our full confidence, recover from the loss first and reclaim your stature in another match by the end of the year before you face Morales again.]
When all things have been said, bottom line is, we lost and we should whole-heartedly accept it. Welcome Pacquiao’s defeat and return with open arms. Excuses should stop revolving around flip culture. There is no need for reasons because he didn’t put us to shame at all. Less than a year ago the name Manny Pacquiao was virtually unknown to American fight fans. Now, more than anything, Manny Pacquiao has definitely put the Philippines on the map.
I am patiently waiting for Pacman’s next bout… until the next clank of the bell.n’s nex
t bout… until the next
