The Many Faces of Manny Pacquiao (Part 2)

Rogelio G. Balo Ph.D.


The Decline of the Boxing Icon 

In the Pacquiao-Rios match, there was no doubt that Pacquiao will win against his opponent, true to most boxing aficionados' forecasts. Every boxing fan would agree with me that Rios is notches down below the level of Pacquiao. Rios cannot be considered within the shades of Eric Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, Timothy Bradley, Ricky Hatton and Juan Manuel Marquez, fighters whom Pacquiao made “mincemeat” in his more than a decade of conquests of the world’s top ranked boxers.  

I have watched the Pacquiao - Rios fight on TV which I have recorded several times. Surely it was a dominating performance by Manny Pacquiao, winning almost every round of the whole bout. It was an overly unmatched fight with Rios desperately looking for a “lucky” punch in the later rounds. But Rios never made nor even a single threat to win over Pacquiao.

Out of curiosity, I reviewed the earlier recorded fights of Pacquiao against Cotto, Shane Mosley, Margarito and Marquez. Definitely the Pacquiao of the Rios fight is not the same Pacquiao in his earlier fights, not even a shade of his own “Pacman” self. Gone is the sting of the 1-2-3 combination punches that toppled down Barrera, Cotto, Victor Ortiz, and Margarito. Nowhere were the juggernaut cross-over left hooks that sent Ricky Hatton and Morales to the canvas, not aware of what happened. Once the deadliest “slayer” of top caliber prizefighters, reports confirmed that Pacquiao has not registered a “stoppage” victory for over 4 years.  More than that, Pacquiao endured back-to-back defeats last year against Tim Bradley and a shocking knockout by Juan Manuel Marquez in a span of a 19-year boxing career.  Is age catching up with Pacquiao?

According to the legendary boxing analyst Larry Merchant Pacquiao “has eased up, his brute power of old slowly being diminished by the termite of age". For Merchant, nothing, not even a knockout win in the latter rounds, could have swept the age factor under the rug for Manny Pacquiao as the Filipino boxing hero announced his return with what pundits here, like the grizzled American, said was an unremarkable decision victory over Brandon Rios. “I would have loved to see him win by stoppage, but you can’t expect an old bull to kick harder than it used to,” said Merchant after the fight.  The grizzled American boxing guru had told the Inquirer on the eve of the fight that “it’s a fair assessment” to assume that Pacquiao, who will turn 35 next month, may have lost his aura of invincibility due to his advancing age. “Merchant thinks that Pacquiao, more than his phantom opponent Floyd Mayweather Jr.  is “a little bit past his prime” and that his disquieting knockout defeat to Juan Manuel Marquez almost a year ago unraveled a “certain decline.” “Usually, when (fighters) get beaten up or stopped when they’re older it’s a reflection of certain decline,” said the 81-year-old former reporter and television broadcaster,

Many believed, as I do, that when great boxer like Pacquiao, at his peak and close to immortality, is knocked out the savage way Pacquiao was, something essential is lost and can never be regained.  Just the mere image of a fallen hero, face down hitting the canvas and seemed lifeless… exists forever, a constant reminder of the prizefighter's mortality.

After the Pacquiao-Rios fight, updated report showed Floyd Mayweather retaining his top best “pound for pound” boxer title, with 45-0 win loss record with 26 knockouts. Rounding the top 5 are Andre Ward, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Roman Gonzales and Sergio Martinez. Pacquiao is listed as no. 7 following his tormentor Juan Manuel Marquez at no. 6 and upcoming undefeated welterweight champion Danny Garcia at no. 8.  Even the recent win of Pacquiao over his former tormentor Timothy Bradley has not revived the reputation of Manny as a top “pound for pound” boxer and “most feared” opponent in the ring. With this in mind, how I wish the world could see Pacquiao fighting and winning against worthy opponents like Floyd Mayweather Jr, Marcus Maidana, and Danny Garcia, among others. Maybe a rematch bout against Miguel Cotto will be good for Pacquiao, in terms of regaining his sting as a top fighter in the boxing world. 

For us Filipinos, Pacquiao is our national hero. He is a world’s boxing icon who comes once in a lifetime that provides a glimmer of hope for the Philippines. The victory of Pacquiao over Rios and Timothy Bradley is a wisp of fresh air for the Filipinos, amidst the devastation of the super typhoon Yolanda and the DAP corruption scandals rocking the country for so long a time. 

April 2019  



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