MANILA, Philippines?Manny Pacquiao, who returns Monday from a successful crown quest in the United States, will not like this but it has got to be honestly said, anyway.
Contrary to what Pacquiao claims, his business with Mexican boxing great Juan Manuel Marquez is neither over nor finished.
OK, Pacquiao was crowned the new world 130-pound boxing king.
The whole country, from the exhilarated President down to the tubercular dog-hungry scavenger, is expected to turn out in full force to give him a fitting welcome and celebrate his ascension.
But, whether Pacquiao likes it or not, the result of his last fight with Marquez remained unclear, inconclusive.
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There are doubtful details crying to be directly and honestly addressed.
For example, Joana Belarmino, a plumpish brown maiden from Bacolod City, says she never watched boxing before but, from what she saw between the endless TV commercials, Marquez won it.
The shy Ilongga, who?s helping in my sis-in-law?s kitchen for the summer, says she never really cared about boxing but has started to follow the sport only because of Pacquiao, whom she adores.
She sincerely felt something went wrong for Pacquiao during the fight.
Take it from one who has heard it all in her daily morning walk through the crowded marketplace.
There are countless other Pacquiao fans who, just like the concerned Ilongga, continue to suspect that something went seriously missing in Pacquiao?s arsenal the last time he banged it out with his old rival from Mexico.
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Yes, there?s no use belaboring the issue.
Pacquiao was adjudged winner.
But, for the record, these concerned fans were not out to dispute Pacquiao?s coronation. No, these fans were not exactly disappointed with Pacquiao.
A world crown is a world crown, and every Pinoy must be proud and happy about the gallant title-clinching feat.
Anyway, if we have refused to join the blind horde, it is to openly wonder where Pacquiao?s boxing career is headed?not to discredit his crown quest.
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Again, Pacquiao may not like this one.
But there was this unanimous verdict from the horde that it was not the same old Pacquiao they saw out there in Las Vegas on March 16.
The fellow who fought Marquez was not the whole of the hero they had adored in his past fights.
Pacquiao, who flashed blazing power, also oozed with grit and courage, as could only be expected.
However, an evident deterioration surfaced in his much-vaunted game.
He was slow, sluggish, and he often loaded up on his killer left like a baseball pitcher in training.
No, Pacquiao was not exactly rusty, but he was often flat and predictable.
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No wonder, the result of Pacquiao?s fight against Marquez has helped divide the boxing world.
Of course, all these observations were expected to get Pacquiao?s goat.
North Cotabato Vice Gov. Manny Pi?ol called from San Francisco on his way back from Las Vegas to say that Pacquiao, in fact, also used his website column to hit back at critics.
A keen boxing scholar, Pi?ol also expressed concern about Pacquiao?s below-par showing, adding he picked Marquez winner by three points.
International referee Bruce McTavish, who says he cares for Pacquiao like his son, called to express concern and bared that he also had Marquez winning by at least three points.
Of course, Pacquiao and Bob Arum, his promoter, would not hear more of these distractions.
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However, trainer Freddie Roach, for his part, openly admitted that, in his estimate, Pacquiao was only 70 percent?a seven?during the title clash with Marquez.
No, these unsavory observations cannot be expected to tell on Pacquiao?s tremendous price tag.
He remains the most exciting, most expensive warrior in his division.
How to keep him lording the boxing dollar and the pay-per-view markets?
Leave it to Arum who has decided to avoid an immediate third Pacquiao-Marquez meeting.
Listen: After his so-so showing against Marco Antonio Barrera last year, followed by the sickening slump against Marquez, there?s no fool-proof way to determine how much more is there left of the great Manny Pacquiao.
Therefore, the call of the day to keep the Pacquiao magic intact is to line up an easy banger for a next foe.
Why? Well, an immediate meeting with the durable and masterful Marquez could only again showcase disturbing incompetence.
