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Reverence in the Impending Downfall of the Great Manny Pacquiao By Carl Tan PhilBoxing.com Tue, 26 Jun 2012  At some point in time, the greatest of sports heroes fall prey to very irrepressible nature of sports, which is the inevitable decline of their abilities in the face of father time. Unexpectedly, this is the glistening moment in which it is realized that this is what made them who they are in the first place. The absence of gracefulness in Ali's footwork during his fight near the end of his career against Larry Holmes; the sight of Larry Bird sitting helplessly in the court with his aching back; the vision of Michael Jordan struggling against gravity in missing a wide open dunk -- history has seen and experienced a number of sports icons struggling in the very stage they have unquestionably dominated for years. Somewhat lost amongst the very justified outrage of the judges' decision of the Pacquiao-Bradley megafight last June 9 was a legitimate concern amongst fight fans that they may have been in the start, or in fact in the midst of the twilight of Manny Pacquiao's career. The author isn't masquerading as any kind of boxing expert by any means, having only been a fan of boxing for a little over three years. The thing is, there's no use to argue whether or not the decline of Manny Pacquiao has come, that's for people or maybe boxing experts to decide. What the author truly believes however is that at some point, may it have already happened a few fights ago or not, the start of of Manny's inevitable decline will come. But ultimately, this should never be a cause of sadness for fight fans, as the late Christopher Reeves once said "A hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." But then again in retrospect, fans never saw Manny Pacquiao as an ordinary boxer. Boasting blazing handspeed and unbelievable punching power performing in one of the lowest weight-classes, Pacman was an undeniable model of athletic supremacy in sports. Watching his earlier fights against Lehlohonolo Ledwaba, Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez, it could legitimately be argued that Manny simply overpowered them with his tremendous physical gifts even in the absence of true technical boxing skills to back it up. In perspective, he could have maintained his skill level from there on out and still be regarded as a superstar, raking in big purses because of his pleasing personality and fighting style. As he fought on however especially after his loss to Erik Morales, it was truly amazing to see how much technical boxing skills Pacman gained with the help of legendary trainer Freddie Roach in each of his fights from there on out. Improving his head movement, tightening up his general defense, developing a respectable if not an equally powerful right hand whilst maintaining his signature left straights, Pacquiao slowly became a complete fighter. The acknowledgement by the great trainer Nacho Beristain that Manny was a more complete fighter, and thus less unpredictable before his third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez only added validity to what most fans saw through the years then. Maybe it was because of the feelings associated with the result being a loss or the sight of Manny Pacquiao looking as less athletic but more skillful as ever (even though he still really won), but his fight with Bradley made the author realized all of this, how true fans should view the decline of sports heroes not as a saddening event but one that should be celebrated as they get a chance to see how ordinary people became special in the first place. Although the decline of athletes are inevitable, the chance to see it happen upfront is not promised. Joe Calzaghe retired looking as dominant as ever, but if fans do see the decline of their beloved Pacman, let them not feel sad, but feel inspired, because it is a reminder that all true heroes are ordinary individuals in the first place, they wouldn't be if they aren't. Carl Tan, a newcomer sportswriter, is a young professional in the Information Technology field whose lifelong passion is in sports especially basketball and more recently boxing. This passion which started at such a young age and his experiences in actual competition in the amateur level have give him a voice and style in writing that is unique, combining in-depth knowledge in his topics with a touch of humor born from his understanding of the often humorous quirks of the topics he covers. Contact Carl at tan.carl1006@gmail.com. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Carl Tan.  |
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