Correct me if I am wrong, but I think I may have heard Alex Ariza talking more in the corner than I heard Freddie Roach last night. I have been covering Manny Pacquiao and his rise to fame from the beginning of his North American arrival. There were some differences that I noticed in his fight last night.
When did Alex Ariza start shouting out boxing directives at Manny Pacquiao in between rounds? He may have in the past but last night seemed like he was much more vocal in that corner than ever before.
Pacquiao seemed disconnected last night to a degree. His normal ring entrance even lacked that electricity that we normally see. Pacquiao is normally grinning from ear to ear, bright eyed, and waiving at his loyal fans from one side of the arena to the next. Not last night. He smiled a little bit but nothing like he used to.
I heard Freddie Roach tell Manny Pacquiao in the corner, “Come on Manny we need to knock this guy out.” A definite sign of worry that their Mexican nemesis was getting the better of them. This is something rarely heard coming from the corner of Manny Pacquiao. Advertisement
I watched the fight twice now. The first time I looked at I had Manny up by a round. The second time I watched it, I flipped and gave it to JMM by one round. Several of the rounds were close and could have went either way. The only score that I did not agree with was the 116/112 score.
Pacquiao was more aggressive and JMM landed more accurate shots. Let us not forget that both men are warriors and deserve our respect.
The booing that I heard last night directed toward Manny Pacquiao was disrespectful and not warranted. Pacquiao has given an awful lot to the sport we love. A sport that desperately needed some fuel injection. Pacquiao did just that. He injected the sport with excitement again.
Floyd Mayweather on the other hand, he may as well take the steroid blood testing demands off of the table and sign a contract. He did after all demolish JMM. What are you afraid of now Floyd? You beat up JMM and Manny was in a war with JMM. Sign the contract and let’s get the big fight going.
