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Philippines, 24 Nov 2024 |
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WITH ODDS STACK AGAINST HIM By Carlo Pamintuan PhilBoxing.com Sat, 15 Nov 2008  It is safe to say that Manny Pacquiao (47-3-2) is not used to being called the underdog for it has been five long years since he came in to the ring as such. However, in his next fight against Oscar de la Hoya (39-5-0), Pacquiao will clearly not be the betting favorite. These odds make much sense because while his opponent has mostly fought at welterweight, Pacquiao has never come remotely close to fighting at 147 pounds. He will have to add an extra 12 pounds to challenge a much bigger man who was once one of the top fighters in the world and now still is one of boxing?s biggest draw. Surely the odds are stacked against Pacquiao. It is also the first time in a very long while that his fans are divided on what the outcome could be. There are those who think that he has a legitimate chance of winning by tiring his opponent and there are those who think Pacquiao does not have a snowball?s chance in hell in pulling of an upset. Even the Games and Amusement Board of the Philippines even tried to stop the fight from happening because they felt it was a blatant mismatch. Still, mismatch or not, the fight is pushing through and it is less than a month away. Pacquiao has rarely been given the underdog tag throughout his career. This is in part due to his 11 straight victories to start his career. However, in the very few times where Pacquiao?s opponent seemed to have the upper hand, Pacquiao always made it a point to overachieve. The first time Pacquiao came in as an underdog was against Chokchai Chockvivat of Thailand for the OPBF flyweight title. Many boxing pundits at that time thought that Pacquiao?s handlers were biting much more than what they could chew as the Thai champion had a 34-2-0 record as compared to Pacquiao?s 19-1-0. However, Pacquiao knocked out the Thai in the fifth round. The next time Pacquiao came in as an underdog was against Chatchai Sasakul and it was for the WBC flyweight title. Sasakul toyed with Pacquiao in the early rounds of that fight and the disparity in their experience was obvious. But Pacquiao did not let the early success of his opponent dishearten him. He would lunge in and willingly take three or four punches from the Thai just so he could throw one of his straight lefts. Pacquiao persevered and was able to get his momentum going in the second half of the fight as his opponent was visibly hurt by Pacquiao?s attacks. Sasakul?s championship reign ended with a straight left from Pacquiao that sent him down for the count in the eighth round. Pacquiao ultimately grew bigger and had to come up in weight. He was given a chance to battle for Lehlohonolo Ledwaba?s IBF super bantamweight title as a late replacement. Ledwaba was then coming off 23 straight wins with six of those being title fights. However, Pacquiao did not let Ledwaba?s reputation get to him as he floored the champion three times and stopped him in the sixth round. The next time Pacquiao came in as an underdog was at the biggest fight of his career. He was going up in weight to fight Marco Antonio Barrera who was then regarded as the best featherweight in all of boxing with notable wins over the likes of Eric Morales, Prince Naseem Hamed, and Johnny Tapia. Pacquiao would go on to shock the world as he beat Barrera from pillar to post en route to an eleventh round stoppage. Few expected Pacquiao to win as Barrera was head and shoulders above anyone Pacquiao has ever faced before. But at that moment, Pacquiao proved to the world that he deserved to be in the spotlight. Now, as his fight against de la Hoya is in the horizon, Pacquiao is in the same position as the four fights mentioned above. He is a heavy underdog and very few expect him to compete, much less win, against his bigger and stronger foe. However, Pacquiao knows that it is at these instances that a fighter?s career is defined. History does not remember fighters who fought only lesser opponents. History remembers fighters who chose to mix it up with the very best. History remembers those who took it upon themselves not to play it safe and instead take on the biggest challenges. Pacquiao only needs to believe he could win. He does not need approval from the Games and Amusement Board of the Philippines. He does not need the odds to tell him if he could win or not. And he could not possibly care less about what a congressman?s opinion is about the upcoming fight. Pacquiao fights best when the odds are against him. He turns into an animal when pushed to a corner. There are a lot of things that could happen come fight night but the only sure thing is Pacquiao will give it his best shot. And if indeed his opponent is just too big for him, you can bet your socks that Pacquiao will go down swinging. Editor's Note: PhilBoxing would like to give a warm welcome to Carlo Pamintuan to the PhilBoxing family of contributors. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Carlo Pamintuan.  |
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