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Philippines, 16 Feb 2012 |
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MEGA FIGHT OR MEGA FRAUD? By Pj Magno De Best PhilBoxing.com Mon, 13 Oct 2008  The good old saying that prize fighters love, "It isn't the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog" may well ring true with regards to battle, in fact it does. History shows fights where smaller men in size but not in heart or ability where able to overcome their larger opponents. Take the Roy Jones Jr vs Johnny Ruiz heavyweight battle for example. But in the case of the Pacquiao vs De la Hoya supposed mega battle, will the fight that's inside the heart of the smaller man be enough to overcome the mountain of talent that is Oscar De La Hoya? A good big man should always beat a good little man is what a former coach used to tell me and both Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao are good at what they do. The problem is, Oscar is far bigger than Manny, yet they are scheduled to trade punches on the 6th of December. There is a lot of speculation over what is going to happen in the bout. The Majority of boxing insiders see it as a one way battle for the bigger man where as the Pac-Man fanatics see their Pinoy super hero knocking out De La Hoya. I have read a lot into the thoughts of different boxing observers but what intrigues me is how many people actually believe that Oscar doesn't know how to pull the trigger anymore. They feel that his lackluster performance against Stevie Forbes is evidence enough that he has grown old and doesn't have the ability to defeat the current pound 4 pound king. Could Oscar's performance against Forbes have been a strategy used to gather rounds up his sleeve for the supposed rematch against Floyd Mayweather Jr; after all it was his questionable stamina that supposedly let him down against Mayweather Jr, and what better way to test it against a crafty, stylistic fighter like Stevie Forbes over 12 rounds. Another point that fascinates me is how people actually believe that Manny is stronger than Oscar. Manny may well have been the hardest hitter in the 122lb to 135lb region but to say he's stronger than the much bigger framed Mexican/American is a huge statement. I don't believe for a minute that Manny could drop Ricardo Mayorga with a single punch the way that Oscar folded him in the first round of their battle before stopping him in the 6th. Oscar has a murderous left hook and when he is up against fighters with a less than impressive defense, he displays it. Manny dropped Juan Manuel Marquez three times in their first bout and another time in their rematch and was still unable to put him away both times. He was even lucky to walk away with the victories. Against David Diaz, Manny was given a punching bag and it took 9 rounds to get the job done. Advantage to Oscar. The Southpaw issue is one that may trouble Oscar. Pernell Whitaker and Hector Camacho gave Oscar headaches in the ring with their fast hands and southpaw stance. Pacman is an extremely fast handed southpaw with power in both hands that always comes to fight and is a workhorse within the ring. Though Pacman is no where near as stylistic as Pernell Whitaker, he does carry a high work rate that might give the older De La Hoya some fits. Advantage to Manny. Both fighters have tested chins. They are both able to carry on fighting when hurt from head shots but the question mark is with their mid sections. Of Manny Pacquiao's 3 losses, 2 have been by knockout and both in the third round due to single body shots. His only loss that went the decision was against Eric Morales in their first meeting. Oscar on the other hand has lost to Trinidad, Mosley (twice), Hopkins and Mayweather Jr. Of all his losses, only once has he been stopped by the much bigger Bernard Hopkins; again by a body shot. Could this be a recipe for victory? Is the mid-section the key for one of these men? A loss for either men could spell out different things for their futures. If Oscar loses to the much smaller Pacquiao, it wouldn't take away what he has done in the past, but it would certainly question his relevance in the future of the sport as a fighter. I couldn't imagine Margarito losing to Pacquiao so it would be hard to take a defeated Oscar seriously in the division again if he were to lose. Pacquiao on the other hand has the buffer of him being much smaller. People will say that the size was too much of a disadvantage and still follow him into his future. They would promptly head back down to lightweight and try to dominate the division that he belongs at. The only problem is that there's a new Sheriff in town and he is and old foe (Marquez). I guess what troubles me the most about this fight is the question of it being a mega fight or a mega fraud. I feel that Oscar should have given the battle scar proven Margarito the chance to make serious money. Manny has many fights left in the lightweight division, including a third bout against Juan Manuel Marquez to truly prove to all that he is the better man. Manny still had a lot of proving to do against other fighters like Nate Campbell, Juan Diaz, Michael Katsidis and Joel Casamayor but instead was given a meal ticket by the Golden Boy. I can't blame Manny for taking the fight as the money he will make is sure to take care of him and his family for the rest of his life; a point that is important to all of us Filipinos. I feel disappointed in Oscar though. After Oscar was left high and dry by Mayweather for a rematch, he should have challenged the winner of Cotto/Margarito. It was the right thing to do, win or lose. If the measure of a champion is how they rise to challenges then this fight would prove that Oscar isn't the champion that he once was. He was the man that won the hearts of fight fans by constantly taking on the best and even stepping up against the bigger Hopkins. Now he is challenging a guy that shows the heart that he once had. I have my own assumption of who is going to win, but I won't be traveling to Las Vegas to see it. Nor will I be paying the premium priced pay per view subscription for the fight. I wish both men good luck but in the end, I hope the man with the biggest heart wins. I think we all know who has the bigger heart of the two. (Advantage to Manny) PJ Magno De Best - Platinum Constructions (PHILIPPINES) - http://www.total-boxing-info.com "The Ultimate Square Ring, Resource King"... Click here to view a list of other articles written by Pj Magno De Best. Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles: |
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