CHICAGO ? While so much was written and said about Manny Pacquiao?s 12-round mastery over Oscar Larios, so little has been mentioned about the other bouts in the Mano-A-Mano card last Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.
Filling that void is my friend Yani Dy of LA, who e-mailed: ?I thought Tomas Rojas won (over Gerry Pe?alosa). Jimrex Jaca was a disappointment. I don?t know how he could have won that fight. And against Pacquiao, Oscar (Larios) was more prepared and braver than Marco Barrera and Erik Morales.?
I disagree. Gerry won his comeback fight. Although Rojas clearly threw more punches, it was Pe?alosa who landed the harder, more effective blows. Yes, Jimrex was a disappointment. He was too eager to please his fellow Pinoys and ended up losing steam. Luckily, he had piled enough points to win by technical decision.
I don?t think Larios is any more prepared or even braver than Barrera or Morales, but Oscar definitely is more durable.
Still on Manny, Gerald Raboy of the Bronx, NY asked: ?Are there any upcoming fights for PacMan versus Barrera, etc?? Pacquiao vs. Morales III is penciled this Nov. 18 either at the MGM Grand or Caesar?s Palace in Las Vegas.
Although Rey Bautista was downed by the flu, he was in the minds of fans, especially Julybien Atadero ([email protected]) who wrote: ?He is as promising as PacMan, and someday, he will hold the spotlight ? a baton pass from Manny to Boom-Boom.?
Finally from Michael Soledad (yahoo.com): ?When is a boxing champ called undisputed?? That?s when a champ unifies all the belts in his division and takes on all comers. But in an era of alphabet soups ? WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, WBU, etc. ? the word ?undisputed? has been muddled.
NBA E-MAILS. There are tons of NBA Finals e-mails that I have left unattended for weeks, a handful of which I?d like to entertain today.
From Nouia Eco ([email protected]): ?Just want to ask if Payton and Mourning will retire now that they won their elusive rings.? I think both will stay, although not necessarily in Miami.
From Arnel Arquiza ([email protected]): ?Can you imagine yourself flailing your arms to block shots and fall flat on the floor with just one kidney? Zo does.?
I can?t do any of the above even if I had three kidneys, but for the record though, Zo has two kidneys. His 32-year-old cousin Jason Cooper gave Mourning a healthy kidney in 2003. Still, Zo pops at least 80 pills a day to stay in shape.
MORE. Thanks to the following for their e-mails: Balt Chavez, who is studying Theology in Rome. He dropped this line during the Finals: ?Keep that rum and Coke burning the Heat.? You betcha!
Thanks also to John Paul Emmanuel Manlergo, who commented on Dirk Nowitzki?s alleged stink, to Aldwin Flores, and to Louie Aluben of Equitable-PCI Bank in Mactan, the hubby of my high school pal Asuncion Astor.
To my other e-mailers, such as my friend and former co-worker at The Freeman, Janette Lariego, sorry I can?t answer all your e-mails here, but please know that I read your letters and I often reply directly to your Inbox.
