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The Tectonic Shift in Boxing Bolted to a New Period: The Pacman Era! By Granville Ampong PhilBoxing.com Wed, 10 Dec 2008  What seemed to be a tune-up fight by the Pay-Per-View King Oscar de la Hoya for Ricky Hatton turned out to an unprecedented backlash that put the brains of Angelo Dundee, Daniel Zaragoza and Nacho Berentein - the Golden Boy?s mentors - in the state of vacuum. All these three men cannot seem to put the puzzles together to one piece. But, who is the man who can truly unfold the complexity of Pacquiao?s strategies? After getting one-sided, brutal beatings from Emmanuel ?Pacman? Pacquiao from round 1 to round 8, De la Hoya sat on the stool, found himself staring to the center - - feeling lonely, no, frustrated and distressed in fact- - pondering of what might come to pass in the ninth if he won?t give up at such crucial moment ? a grisly knock out! His left eye swollen shut and peri-orbital turned purple plum. And his face bruised by punches Pacquiao landed, as if from nowhere. ?I have to stop the fight.? Nacho Berentein said. ?It was the best decision I?ve ever made for the honor of Oscar.? However, ?my heart still wants to fight, that?s for sure,? De la Hoya said. ?But when your physical does not respond, what can you do? I have to be smart and make sure I think about my plans.? De la Hoya, who was trained by Freddie Roach in his last big fight a year ago, could not throw punches. Neuro-vascular paralyzing shots from Pacquiao put him in a momentary stupor, except for round 3 in which he showed a bit of his trademark flurry. But, it was not enough to punctuate the said round to his favor. De la Hoya, nevertheless, looked so old with the style of Pacquiao. ?If Pacquiao is the ?hip-hop? of today, then De la Hoya is the monotonous classical of yesterdays.? Jeanette Williams said, one of the boxing fans of Manny Pacquiao. De la Hoya?s precision, indeed, dropped tremendously bearing his being flat-footed and sluggish all throughout the fight. No bouncing observed, in fact. Experiencing a big surprise of Pacquiao?s agility and strategic movements with vicious, surgical assaults, De la Hoya felt the impact of being disarmed from using his left hooks. ?He can?t just pull the trigger.? Freddie Roach said. ?Taking the left hand away was the key,? Roach said. ?We took Oscar?s left hand away from him and once we did that, the fight was over.? De la Hoya, who was whisked to a local hospital without attending the post-fight press conference, did not officially announce his retirement. Never before was he beaten badly and as cleanly and decisively as he was by Pacquiao. Conversely, the only clear loss he had was when he was knocked out by a perfect shot to the liver by Bernard Hopkins in 2004. All other losses he had were split decisions, inclusive of his Mayweather fight. Pacquiao, who not only was as elusive as Mayweather, Jr., threw more punches that kept De la Hoya?s potential assaults at bay. In fact, Pacquiao was far more impressive against De la Hoya than Mayweather in maneuvering surgical shots. Asked if he wants to fight Mayweather, Pacquiao answered by his usual response: ?I am just a fighter. It is up to my promoter to decide.? Arum, the enterprising Harvard Lawyer who promoted Pacquiao, said he wouldn?t discuss a potential opponent for Pacquiao until after the holidays, but it is clear his bigger fights are yet to come. Lucrative fights flicker obviously against Ricky Hatton and Mayweather, Jr., if the latter, who has declared his retirement, decides to come back to the ring. But, Hatton is the likely next opponent of Pacquiao as was intimated by the HBO PPV and co-promoters. Meanwhile, Pacquiao ended the debate as to whether ?The Dream Match? was a mismatch or a farcical one as stirred by the media. ?The media, the press is never wrong,? Top Rank Godfather Bob Arum said. ?You all said it was a mismatch and it was a mismatch.? Pacquiao improved to 48 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws with 36 knockouts. And the tectonic shift in boxing bolted to a new period: The Pacman Revolutionary Era - signaling his defiance to the dictates of the World Boxing Council. Will he continue to bypass the ranks of WBC?s boxing authority? Emmanuel ?Pacman? Pacquiao by far is now symbolic of a new trail, at least not just in boxing, but, to the lives of the Filipinos. Yes, he is the man. Note: Granville Ampong is an L.A.-based journalist credentialed for the Pacquiao-De la Hoya fight by the Magna Media International, the official marketing arm of HBO Pay-Per-View, MGM Grand and the Golden Boy Promotions. You may visit his site: www.maharlikantimes.com. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Granville Ampong.  |
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