MALAYBALAY CITY — Days before Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao faced Mexico?s Erik Morales, I had a hunch the sports hero from General Santos City would lose if he did not knock his opponent out. I had
wanted to write about it earlier, but I did not want to appear killjoy to our kababayans who were naturally expecting a Pacquiao victory.
I, too, had been crossing my fingers Manny would win. But even if the whole nation prayed it would not be enough to turn the odds in his favor.
This columnist is no boxing analyst and won?t pretend to be one. But I?d say Pacquiao?s camp ? and eventually Pacquiao himself ? was unprepared against Morales.
I?m not referring to the Filipino boxer?s physical preparations and conditioning, which I think was superb considering that he went the distance despite suffering a cut caused by a head butt. He?s tough, no doubt about it. And, if not for the cut, the outcome would have been different.
Now let?s stop speculating and go into some facts.
Lacking essential mental preparation and unaware of what Morales was capable of doing, Pacquiao virtually waded into unknown waters, sure of his strength but not the enemy?s. It was a formula for defeat.
To begin with, Pacquiao only had the vaguest idea of what Morales had up his sleeves, or rather, in his gloves. Based on reports, the opponent trained in a forest in Mexico, away from the intrusive media and all.
That they decided to stay in a forest for the duration of the training showed that El Terrible?s handlers knew the odds, that is, they did not underestimate The Destroyer. (Who would take lightly a fighter who has recently floored two other Mexican champions?) They wanted to keep the other side guessing, to deny it any opportunity to devise an appropriate strategy. In other words, Pacquiao?s camp lacked ?intelligence data? on the opponent.
Morales? reclusion not only made the enemy guessing, it also enabled him to acquire focus, concentration and much needed mental relaxation while toughening his body up for the battle ahead. His trainers must have taken a cue or two from those Kung Fu movies.
The effect of his hermit-like training regimen showed on Morales? face when he finally had to face the camera. He was a picture of calm and self-assuredness.
In sports, as in war, the psychological factor is as important as the physical, a lesson that was not lost on Morales? camp but patently absent in Pacquiao?s.
On the other hand, the Filipino boxer?s training was marred by so much distraction from the media, family members, friends and no doubt spies sent by the Mexicans, and the overconfidence of his handlers who apparently underestimated Mexican pride and prowess. I?m pretty sure they don?t know the Alamo.
It did not help that the country?s biggest (kuno) TV network was there to take a blow-by-blow account of Pacquiao?s training. Maybe the network?s self-proclaimed sports analysts thought interviews and self-serving predictions of a victory were enough.
Honestly, I wasn?t sure if Pacquiao was in a training camp or in a Hollywood studio. How many precious minutes were wasted on accommodating interviews withrepetitive questions and on fans who sought his autograph?
Never mind. These things are now water under the bridge. And, Pacquiao, with his young age and talent, can still redeem himself.
