MANNY PACQUIAO will turn 40 on December 17. Lucas Matthysse is presently 35 years old.
They are both old, you might say?
Many pundits will answer, yes. And, to a certain degree, they are right.
They say a boxer?s peak is at age 33. That was Muhammad Ali?s age when he stopped Joe Frazier in the ?Thrilla in Manila? on October 1, 1975. For Ali, that was the most brutal fight in his storied career. He was frank to admit Frazier had beaten him by mere seconds in raising his arms in surrender.
After 13 rounds of savagery in a bout listed as the fight of the century, both were literally fagged out. Both were actually battered and bewildered. Each one was actually of the belief he was winning. Both had virtually lost grasp of reality; they didn?t even know they were in Manila. Fighting to the death.
Just seconds after the bell sounded to signal the start of Round 14, Frazier?s camp said they were calling it a day. Eddie Futch, Frazier?s chief corner man, tossed in the towel in surrender.
Ali was standing in his corner, not realizing it at first that Frazier had quit.
The jam-packed crowd at the Cubao Big Dome was also stunned and, at first, didn?t know what was happening.
It was only when Carlos Padilla, the third man in the ring who became the first referee to ever give Ali a warning for holding during the fight, waved his hand to signal a halt to the battle that the crowd realized it was over.
Ali didn?t rejoice in victory?at least outwardly. He just said, ?I was about to surrender myself.? When asked to describe the fight, Ali said: ?It was next to death.?
It was supposed to last 15 rounds. There was not almost a round in the first 13 rounds that wasn?t as savage and as brutal you?d get the atmosphere you were in a slaughterhouse, blood and gore all over you.
So vicious, wicked and violent was the fight that it virtually became the trigger to reduce world title fights from 15 to 12 rounds.
Thus, when Pacquiao tries to capture another world crown?against Matthysse this time?he will have 12 rounds to do it.
Their July 15 fight is set in Kuala Lumpur, with Pacquiao, already the unprecedented owner of eight world titles in eight weight divisions, aiming to snatch Matthysse?s WBA (World Boxing Association) welterweight crown.
Pacquiao?s Argentinian foe, besides younger by four years, appears truly dangerous because only three of Matthysse?s 39 victims escaped a knockout loss.
Pacquiao is said to have trained hard enough to regain his speed on both feet and hands.
But he hasn?t fought for more than a year, his last outing on July 1, 2017, even ending in a lackluster points loss to a nondescript Australian named Jeff Horn.
His last knockout win came almost 10 years ago, a chilling truth that makes Pacquiao?s power punches becoming suspect since. And, look at this, he has lost four times since he stopped Miguel Cotto on November 14, 2009, for the WBO welterweight title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Before losing to Horn, Pacquiao bowed to Timothy Bradley, Juan Manuel Marquez and, yes, Floyd Mayweather Jr.
I would like Pacquiao to win, of course. And, yes, I think he could win.
He is his fight?s promoter. Big deal. That means he will pay Matthysse?s purse; about $2.5 million?a record paycheck for the tattooed slugger. With Matthysse being practically Pacquiao?s employee, will the boss not have the last say? Naughty, huh.
THAT?S IT I raise a glass once more to San Miguel Beer for its monumental feat of erasing a 23-point deficit to defeat TNT KaTropa, 121-110, on Monday night. Listen to a basketball scholar I admire most deeply: ?SMB Coach Leo Austria is one super lucky guy, indeed.?
