LAS VEGAS ? North Cotabato Vice Gov. Manny Pi?ol, owner of the Braveheart boxing stable in Mindanao and a sportswriter for over 20 years, predicted Manny Pacquiao would beat Oscar de la Hoya by decision or a late stoppage in their Dream Match at the MGM Grand Garden Arena here Saturday night.
Pi?ol, who turns 55 the day before Pacquiao marks his 30th milestone next week, said De la Hoya?s fading skills proved to be his undoing. He called the Golden Boy ?shop-worn? and ?overfought.?
?De la Hoya no longer has the stamina he claims he has,? said Pi?ol. ?You saw him tire out in the late rounds against Mayweather, Forbes and Hopkins.?
Before the bout, Pi?ol said Pacquiao should avoid engaging De la Hoya in the early rounds where the Golden Boy will be at full strength. ?Manny?s defense has to be tight,? he went on. ?He can?t be careless. He should play it out in the first few rounds and measure De la Hoya who is much taller. Manny should use his speed and throw a lot of punches to keep De la Hoya off balance. De la Hoya isn?t dense. He knows his edge is fighting from the outside so Manny should move in and out, apply pressure and confuse him with his southpaw style.?
Pi?ol was right on the money. Pacquiao halted De la Hoya in the eighth round, the scenario Pi?ol painted for a late stoppage.
?This was Manny?s greatest challenge,? he said. ?Manny executed a perfect strategy. De la Hoya had no chance from the start. Manny was just too fast for him.?
Pi?ol flew in from Manila two days before the fight and will stay in the US to watch two of his unbeaten southpaw prot?g?s Jundy (Pretty Boy) Maraon and Glenn (Rapid Fire) Gonzales, take on separate opponents in a fight card at the Alameda Swap Meet in Los Angeles tonight (tomorrow morning, Manila).
Maraon, 23, has a 10-0-1 record, with eight KOs and according to Pi?ol, is ready for a world title shot. He is lined up to face Ratanachai Sor Vorapin for the WBO bantamweight title, if Gerry Pe?alosa vacates it, on Jan. 24 in a Sammy Gello-ani promotion in Cebu.
?What I like about Pretty Boy is his one-punch knockout power,? said Pi?ol. ?Can you believe he once knocked out a sparmate using 16-ounce gloves? His draw was with Buboy Fernandez? prot?g? Ernel Fontanilla and Buboy told me Fontanilla was lucky to get a technical draw in the second round because of a cut from a butt. Fontanilla would?ve been knocked out for sure if the fight went on.?
Pi?ol said if undisputed superflyweight champion Vic Darchinyan will oblige, Maraon is ready to drop down to the 115-pound division to battle the Australian. ?There?s no way Jundy will lose to Darchinyan,? assured Pi?ol.
Gonzales, 23, is also unbeaten with a 7-0-1 record, including four KOs. He is known for his ?bionic? left hand, which was surgically repaired with a bone graft from his pelvis.
?Glenn?s left hand was shattered and Dr. Carillo performed a graft operation taking a bone from his pelvis,? said Pi?ol. ?The surgery was successful and he only has a scar to show.?
It will be Gonzales? second fight in the US. Last July, he outpointed Robert DaLuz in a junior bantamweight sixer at Planet Hollywood here.
Pi?ol said aside from Maraon and Gonzales, the Braveheart stable lists other promising contenders like Rolando Magbanua, Lorenzo Villanueva, Edrin Dapudong, Romel (My Little Assassin) Asenjo, Glenn Porras and Reynaldo Belandres. In all, his stable counts on 14 fighters.
Pi?ol?s fighters are trained by his brother Noli, Bruce Lerio and Jay Angcog. Supervising the fighters? progress is IBF flyweight champion Nonito Donaire?s father Nonito Sr. who is currently in Kidapawan.
Pi?ol said Donaire Sr. is putting up a gym in Cebu where seven Braveheart fighters will relocate. He will regularly commute to San Leandro, California, where Maraon and Gonzales are based.
Pi?ol said Maraon and Gonzales are both free agents. ?I secured their release from Top Rank because they weren?t given fights for six months as stipulated in their contract,? explained Pi?ol. ?Luckily, Manny (Pacquiao) interceded and helped the boys get fights. I don?t blame Top Rank since Bob (Arum) is really focused on Manny and Abe (Concepcion). But I?ll still talk to Top Rank for opportunities. At least, now I?ve got some elbowroom to negotiate with other promoters.?
Pi?ol, who used to write a boxing column entitled ?Right Straight,? named his Braveheart stable after his youngest child and only boy Bernhart Immanuel who was born with a hole in his heart but is now healed. His two other children are Marian Kristine, 22, and Josa Bernadette, 19.
Pi?ol was elected mayor of M?lang, North Cotabato, in 1995 then governor for three straight terms. The second of 11 children, all boys, Pi?ol said if only his fighters had even half Pacquiao?s guts and heart, he?s certain they?ll be world champions someday.
