Mr. Congressman: What were you thinking?
An entire country expected you to bring a sense of urgency; a do-or-die attitude; an explosive array of punch combinations. We saw a lack of these critical factors on May 2nd and therefore you lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr by a wide margin.
Pacquiao’s anti-climactic performance disappointed his legion of fans. Sure, Floyd was brilliant by (a) running away, (b) countering Pacman with the right hand, and (c) clenching when both fighters got close. However, everyone with a brain expected all of that.
The Pinoy idol could still have overcome Floyd’s strategies by imposing his will through punch volume and explosiveness. Additionally, Pacquiao didn’t seem to have any sense of urgency to close the gap on the scorecards. In between rounds, Freddie Roach and Buboy Fernandez also seemed lethargic, and seemingly failed to implore their ward to fight harder and to rumble with the defensive genius. As if they were content to collect their hefty paychecks from their Pinoy employer.
That lackadaisical attitude was wholly inappropriate for the superfight. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to face Floyd and you don’t go into battle thinking it’s just “another day at the office.”
There comes a point where faith in your ability to win transforms into delusion when all the facts point to Mayweather pulling away in the scorecards of the “Fight of the Century.”
Unfortunately, Manny fell into the trap of letting Floyd dictate the pace and tempo. The holy bible may be a great influence in life, but it’s useless inside the battlefield of the squared circle. Pacquiao needed to be a Tazmanian devil in there, but he let the undefeated Mayweather shoot off his sniper rifle from a safe distance.
The biggest fight of your life, and no urgency. Shame.
Losses shouldn’t come with smiles, nor should they come with congratulatory hugs from leeches and Yes-men.
