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Philippines, 18 Nov 2024 |
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How To Beat Kryptonite By Marc Jonathan E. de Jesus PhilBoxing.com Tue, 15 Nov 2011  Every super hero has a weakness. Oh and make no mistake about it, to millions of fan boys, corporate sponsors and just about everyone who shares a lineage to the Philippines, Pacquiao is as super a hero as they come. Just as fans in the 90?s worshipped Jordan, we have all witnessed this same, deity-like pedestal that Pacquiao has been gradually raised to. By day he?s a congressman, by night he?s a world champion. The media loves him, kids across the world imitate his ?pa-pa-pa-poom!? and he can?t do no wrong, despite his misguided forays into music. He?s even got a Manny Pacquiao produce line. Jordan didn?t even go there. Imagine that, the ?Air Mangoes? with the Jumpman logo stamped across a piece of fruit. Now that?s bananas. Whether he likes it or not? okay, he definitely likes it, Pacquiao is worshipped and followed throughout the world. Through a combination of extraordinary boxing, oversaturated marketing and a tinge of delusion, he has become a real life, modern day, Superman to millions (including yours truly). But just like in the comics, TV shows and movies, every super hero has a weakness. Otherwise it would get boringly redundant to see our main man win easily every single time (sound familiar?). This is why the writers came up with ?Kryptonite?. And on November 12th, 2011, we finally were shown (or to some, convinced) what our beloved Pacman?s ?Kryptonite? was- A legendary counter puncher. In this case it was his arch-rival Juan Manuel Marquez or ?Dinamita? if you want to keep that comic book theme going. Although I had the fight scored a draw, there were a vast majority (including several professional media members) that beLIEved Pacquiao lost. However, on the three scorecards that actually counted, Pacman won on two. On the official fight statistics count sheet (CompuBox), he won. Just like Jordan winning games by leading the Bulls to victory by way of scoring more baskets, Pacquiao threw more punches and landed more punches. But Marquez was a huge underdog; to many (but not Manny) he wasn?t expected to make the fight competitive. On top of that, he landed the cleaner, more dramatic punches that snapped our hero?s head back. For good stretches of the fight, Pacquiao seemed vulnerable and confused. Psychologically, this fight was that perfect storm for many to beLIEve Marquez was robbed of a victory. If it wasn?t obvious in 2008, it is now; Pacquiao has super huge problems with legendary counterpunchers. His ?Kryptonite? (ironically that rhymes with Dynamite). We witnessed it November 12th, 2011. But like every superhero, in the face of adversity he found a way and a will to win. He outworked Marquez. Pacman brought the fight to Dynamite. He was the aggressor all night and in this light, threw more punches and landed more punches even though the scoring was tight. As we witnessed with the scoring, judges tend to favor the guy that is more active, tend to favor the guy that lands more punches and dare I say, tend to favor the ?hero? (see De La Hoya vs. Sturn). Given the fact that some four years later, a new and improved Pacquiao still hasn?t figured out how to deal with a legendary counterpuncher like Marquez, many are now giving Pacquiao a slim to none chance against his fiercest rival yet- Floyd Mayweather, or ?Money? if you want to keep the comic book theme going. Mayweather is a ?super? version of Marquez. Counterpuncher supreme with a lot more speed, a lot more power and a naturally bigger frame. It would be our hero?s biggest nightmare to date, excluding the IRS. He would be Lebron to Marquez?s Kobe. If the match were to actually materialize, it would be the first time in nearly half a decade that Pacquiao would be considered a huge underdog- the Pacman storyline finally coming to a dramatic climax. And while all the plot lines seem to point to the fact that boxing-wise Pacman would be outmatched by Money, November 12th, 2011 gave all of us Pac-fans a glimmer of hope. With just the right set of judges, Pacquiao can outwork Mayweather to victory. Throw more, land more, stay more active, stay the media darling and he will come out victorious, again. Sometimes super heroes find non-super ways to win. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Marc Jonathan E. de Jesus.  |
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