LOS ANGELES, California ? His transformation, from slugger to complete boxer, was phenomenal but Manny Pacquiao claimed there was nothing truly amazing behind the shift in his fighting style.
Short of swearing that a winner can?t rest on his laurels, Pacquiao bared the main factor behind his triumph.
There should be a special strategy for each opponent, he said.
?Kailangan bawat kalaban me stratehiya ka, kuha ka ng tamang istilo (You prepare something extra special for every opponent, even change your style)? he told the Inquirer before departing for Manila from outside the Vagabond Inn, his original quarters next to his training camp in the Hollywood area here.
In that same visit to the inn, Pacquiao, who stayed in the Palazzo Apartments while here, re-entered Room 120, his quarters in his earlier fights in the USA, where he longingly lay down on his old bed.
What has baffled experts, including American boxing scholars, was the totally new arsenal displayed by Pacquiao in his scintillating conquest of Erik Morales, the seasoned Mexican ring maestro who beat the RP sensation in their first fight last year.
From an uptight, one-track slugger, an easy target for simple jabs, Pacquiao has metamorphosed into a shifty, weaving, multi-dimensional hit man who now selects his shots.
The great change has amazed experts, with some swearing they had never seen such fantastic shift in a boxer during their lifetime.
Once a slugger, always a slugger, they attested.
Majority of fight fans back home had insisted that all Pacquiao had to do in his rematch against Morales was avoid being cut again, and victory would be in the bag.
Pacquiao however disagreed and bared they had to work very hard, real hard. He made great sacrifices, stayed super fit while repeating special drills for weeks on end.
They had erred in taking Morales lightly in the first fight, and made sure there?s won?t be a repeat of the monumental blunder.
?We took the jab away from him,? Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach had said.
Add to that the revised artillery — left hook, uppercut, right hook, body shots — and what comes is a whirlwind of a fighter inside the boxing ring.
?Tell them I?m the storm across the Pacific,? Pacquiao said before driving away in his gray $60,000 Porsche SUV to return to his apartment and prepare for his historic return to the Philippines.
