CLOSE to 18,000 Pacman fanatics were disappointed it didn’t end the way it was expected to be.
But definitely, all went home utterly satisfied.
Manny Pacquiao survived scary moments in the third, sixth and tenth rounds but finished strongly to earn his first career 12-round unanimous victory against the tough but outclassed Oscar Larios of Guadalajara, Mexico.
The only times Manny fought over twelve full rounds were against two other Mexicans, Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales.
He fought Marquez to a 12-round majority draw and lost to Morales in a unanimous decision.
For Larios, surviving Pacquiao over twelve rounds was already a victory.
His manager, Rafael Mendoza said the fact that Larios survived the famous Pacman onslaught is a testament to the durability and skills of his fighter.
Queer moments
Unlike his previous fights, Manny did not storm out of his corner and swarm all over Larios. He was tentative in the opening rounds throwing some lazy right jobs as if to measure Larios.
Midway in the first round, Manny unleashed some right hooks to the body, which was countered by Larios with right straights to the face.
The following round, both boxers traded heavy blows at the middle of the ring with Manny backing off Larios with crunching left straights. Larios with retaliate with left and right straights of his own.
In the third round, Larios suddenly swarmed Manny who was caught by surprised and had the Filipino champ backing to the ropes. Larios threw several straights to the face of Manny who covered up at the ropes. Manny would survive the onslaught and came back with a flurry of his own in the second half of the third round. But clearly, it was Larios’ round.
In the post fight huddle with Buboy Fernandez, one Manny’s trainers, he said Manny admitted he was hit hard.
“Pare, may tama tayo,” Buboy quoted Manny as saying. Even Coach Freddie roach was worried.
“It was a scary moment. I was concerned he was hurt a little bit,” he said.
In the fourth round, Manny shifted his attention to his opponent’s body, connecting with several wicked hooks and lunging left straights. Blood began flowing on Larios left eye as a result of a cut inflicted by a punch from Manny.
In the fifth round, Manny shifted gears and began boxing out Larios. He let loose several left unanswered left straights just before the end of the bell.
In the sixth round, Manny again inflicted a cut just above the cheek of Larios but Larios again caught Manny in the ropes and drained his killer left and right combination. Manny however escaped from further damage.
Early in the seventh round and three-punch combination sent Larios to his knees for the bout’s first knockdown.
Larios rallied briefly but was again on the verge of being sent to the canvass as the bell rang to end the round.
The eight round was action packed, with both fighters trading heavy blows in the middle of the ring and exchanging body shots.
Manny’s confidence began to grow and even taunted Larios for a while in the ninth round as Manny delivered some heavy blows to his game opponent. A clash of heads prompted referee Bruce Mactavish to check on their foreheads. The bout continued but Larios face was already crimson red with blood oozing down from his left eyebrow and cheek.
True to his reputation, Larios did not only absorb all of Manny’s heaviest punches and survive, he also caught Manny with several combinations and right straights that had the General Santos City boxing sensation backing up the ropes again in the tenth round.
In the eleventh round, Manny staggered Larios with several wicked powerful straights but the gallant Mexican warrior refused to go down.
In the last round however, Manny unleashed some of his bombs and put Larios on his pants with a right hook-left straight combination. Larios looked up the referee but managed to beat the count.
He crowd was on its feet and gave Manny and Larios a standing ovation just as the bout ended.
Both fights would touch gloves and hug each other before going back to their corners.
Post fight
Larios and his team appeared before reporters in a press conference hours after the fight.
The Mexican paid tribute to his nemesis and said Manny was a great champion.
“I came well prepared for the fight (but) Manny beat me with his speed. I lost to a great champion,” Larios told reporters.
He was still wearing dark glasses but the welts on his left eye were made even more pronounced by the strip of plasters to keep the cut closed.
His coach Jose Reynoso said, “I am proud of my fighter because of his tremendous heart.”
Before Larios left the room just as Manny was about to begin his own press interview, the Mexican boxer said Pacquiao was not only a great champion but also a great man.
Pacquaio also thanked Larios for a great fight. The Filipino boxing icon told reporters it was his game plan to take it easy and not be careless.
“Mahirap na baka matsambahan,” he said.
He ruled out any rematch with Larios, though.
“Kay Erik Morales pa siguro,” he shot back.
Asked how he felt when larios was all over him in the third round, Manny replied, “Hindi naman ako masyadong nasaktan.”
In fact, he said, he was able to bounce back and dish out some heavy punches of his own.
But Buboy Fernandez said, they instructed Manny to stay away from the ropes.
“Huwag kang lumubid. Dalhin mo sa gitna,” he told Manny. Ask how he felt, Buboy said he was scared. “Akala to mapuruhan.”
Nonetheless, the Team Pacquiao conceded it was a tough fight.
Going twelve rounds once in a while, Freddie Roach said, is a good test of the skills of a boxer.
In jest, Manny said the bout was a good show for his countrymen.
While both Team Pacquiao and Larios’ camp failed to deliver their kind of victory that they promised, Sunday’s big event at the big dome was indeed one big spectacle.
Although the coliseum was not filled to the rafters (some 20 per cent of the seats were unoccupied) the crowd was one of the biggest in years.
The bout will surely be a talk of the town for the week.
