MANILA, Philippines – If Manny Pacquiao and Lea Salonga are the only two Filipinos who can legitimately be called global icons, then Pacquiao’s performance on Sunday is his version of Miss Saigon.
Boxing critics just couldn’t stop praising it.
“Is there any doubt that Pacquiao, the Filipino whirlwind, is the best pound-for-pound fighter? Certainly not after that performance,” boxing writer Dan Rafael of top US-based sports website ESPN.com said.
“Pacquiao entrenched himself as fighter of the year with this showing,” Lance Pugmire of Los Angeles Times added.
Boxing purists, the ones who hate glossed-over matches which only aim to run up the cash register, crucified the match between the five-foot-six Pacquiao and the five-foot-10 Oscar de la Hoya. They branded it a mismatch, “a circus”, and “a farce” and that de la Hoya would run over Pacquiao.
In an informal poll on Mannypacquiao.ph, 17 of 21 news and sports web sites picked de la Hoya, a 10-time champion and an Olympic gold medalist, to win.
