Philippines, 16 Sep 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


PACQUIAO WATCH: DISSECTING MANNY


PhilBoxing.com




As usual many are proffering their thoughts on how Manny Pacquiao fared in his second conquest of Marco Antonio Barrera.

The blood-thirsty Pacman fanatics were surely disappointed Manny was not able to bludgeon Barrera into submission the same way the first two ring gladiators met almost four years ago in what is now the famous Alamodome ambush.

His detractors and critics, on the other hand, pointed to Manny's eroding power as sign of his deterioration as a feared knockout artist.

Well, those who lusted for blood and gore were, rightly or not, definitely swayed by their blind emotion and adoration of Pacquiao whom they expect to knockout every one that dared cross his path. After all, Manny's terrible punching prowess and knockout ratio are what made him one of the most exciting fighters in the business today.

What many missed were the stories behind and the future that brings with Manny's unanimous decision win over Barrera.

Forget about the alleged romantic interlude with Ara Mina and the reported lover's quarrel with Jinky. They are just spices to his already colored life.

Forget about his spats with several journalists. They are just but products of his earlier sorry episodes with them.

Forget about his election loss. It was just another costly lesson in his attempt to crash into the elite and dirty world of Philippine politics.

My source from the grapevine said Manny was more worried with meeting the 130-lbs weight limit he had to rush back to Manila after barely a week of hitting Los Angeles in August. He had to lose weight fast and what better place to burn those excess poundage than the tropical heat of the Philippines.

After almost emptying his kitty in a failed bid to become a member of the Philippine Congress, Manny has to earn a living off the ring. That is probably why he accepted the movie offer and inked deals with local sponsors during the height of his preparation. After all, Manny has a very, very big extended family to feed and keep happy.

His lawyer and trusted friend Jeng Gacal admitted that they were also worried the pay per view sales might not hit the target and affect Manny's total take home pay. Two weeks before the October 6 fight, ticket sales were not as brisk as the Pacquiao-Morales II even though the Mandalay Bay is smaller than the Thomas and Mack Center where Manny fought Morales for the third time.

Manny's purse was still up in the air when he hurriedly left LA leaving the task of negotiating the final purse figure with Gacal.

Notwithstanding these situations, however, Manny climb the ring a very confident man although talks about the distractions somehow helped hype the fight.

Suffice to say, the Mandalay Bay was not filled to the rafters, so to speak, because many saw the inevitable ? another win for Manny.

Of his performance against Barrera, Manny could not force himself to knockout somebody so unwilling to engage. Like a dance, it takes two to tango.

When Barrera opted to dance away from harm's way, Manny gave him a dose of his own medicine. By showing he has more to offer than simply bulldozing his way to victory, Manny proved that he too can box with flourish.

Did Manny really box? Of course he did. Not in the way Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard would beautifully float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. Manny's in-and-out darting style is already an art of boxing by itself. Nobody, and that means nobody, in the business today could match Manny's boxing style. The purists may not agree but his style is entirely his own and that makes him so entertaining.

Wait. Is that uncharacteristic of Manny? Boxing his opponent into victory?

Many should by now realize that the key to longevity in the cruel sport of boxing is not just how one conquers opponents in convincing fashion but how to preserve one's body as well.

Manny cannot hope to last long in this sport if he will continue to take punches just to land his haymakers.

Look at Rolando Navarette now. The first world champion to emerge from General Santos is not even a shadow of his self. Stricken with Parkinson's disease undoubtedly caused by too many punches, Navarette now struts while walking and speaks in slur.

Surely, nobody wants to see Manny in that pitiful condition.

Many have criticized Manny for his defense or lack of it.

But not a few of his opponents agree that Manny is one of the hardest opponents to hit precisely because of his speed. Now, that's boxing.

Ever since he was knocked down by Australian Nadel Hussein at the Ynares Center in Antipolo in 2000, Manny has not tasted the canvas. True, he was hurt more than a couple of fights in the ensuing 18 bouts after that episode but he was never knocked down because he was able to get away from further harm. And that is boxing, for you and for us.

Manny's time to bow to another young upstart will surely come. Let's just hope it would not be down in the canvas.

In the meantime, let's give Manny the chance to cement his spot in the world of boxing greats. Manny still has at least five fights left in him. Let us not rush him to defeat because of our thirst for blood. After all, he had already given us all we could ask for.

Editor's Note: PhilBoxing.com would like to welcome its newest contributor, General Santos City-based and veteran sports journalist, Edwin G. Espejo. Espejo is one of the few Philippine journalists who has fully covered Pacquiao's career since Pacquiao was a struggling young boy in General Santos.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Edwin G. Espejo.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • Smarts over power
    By Joaquin Henson, , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • HALL OF FAME FLIES FLAGS AT HALF-STAFF FOR TWO-DIVISION CHAMPION RICKY HATTON
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • Kazakhstan tops the medal table at the inaugural World Boxing Championships 2025 thanks to victory in the final bout of the competition
    , Tue, 16 Sep 2025
  • THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 13: JOE FRAZIER’S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AS AN AMATEUR FIGHTER
    By Maloney L. Samaco, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • A New King, A New Challenger: Turki Alalshikh Proposes Crawford-Benavidez While Canelo Alvarez Faces Defeat with Humility
    By Dong Secuya, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Highly Questionable Title Eliminator
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline Perez Earns Silver Medal at Inaugural World Boxing Championships
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • 21-year-old Filipino wins at Germany rapid chess tournament
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Nagoya Nightmare: Naoya Inoue Notches One-Sided Decision over Murodjon Akhmadaliev
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Inoue’s Philippine Connection: Which Pinoy Super Bantamweight Could Challenge “The Monster?”
    By Carlos Costa, , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Yoseline Perez Advances to the Finals at the World Boxing Championships Perez Set to Face Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao-Wen Huang for 54-Kilogram World Title
    , Mon, 15 Sep 2025
  • Canelo Gets Outboxed, Loses Undisputed Title to Crawford
    By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • A Masterpiece of Boxing: Terence Crawford Dethrones Canelo Alvarez in Historic Showdown
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • LEWIS CROCKER IS CROWNED THE NEW IBF WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
    , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Battle of Undefeated: Callum Walsh Vanquishes Fernando Vargas Jr.
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Undercard Inferno: Mbilli and Martinez Deliver a Super Middleweight War Ending in a Thrilling Draw
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Crawford to defy odds?
    By Joaquin Henson, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Clash of Titans: The Final Predictions for Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford
    By Dong Secuya, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Weigh-In Results: Naoya Inoue vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev
    , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Inoue and Akhmadaliev Make Weight for Sunday's Battle, Watch it LIVE on Facebook!
    By Carlos Costa, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • IIEE North Cotabato and Metro Central are the Golden Champion on 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Chess
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Sun, 14 Sep 2025
  • Sydney Sy Tancontian is Female Awardee of Sports Hero of the Year
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Size Matters
    By Chris Carlson, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • BOOTS TALKS SPARRING WITH CANELO IN ‘DAY IN THE LIFE’
    , Sat, 13 Sep 2025
  • WEIGHTS FROM LAS VEGAS: CANELO - 167.5 LBS., CRAWFORD - 167.5 LBS.
    By Dong Secuya, , Sat, 13 Sep 2025




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2025 philboxing.com.