It would have been sheer folly to come in cocky and fool around with the opponent. So Manny Pacquiao spent all of three rounds figuring out the unknown Mexican pretender Jorge Solis at the Alamodome in Texas yesterday. After all, he had promised not to take him lightly.
It was not easy to find the correct formula against the ambitious Guadalajaran, but Pacquiao sensed he would eventually find it. Actually, he could not afford not to find it, there was just too much on the line.
It was not so much that Solis was undefeated in 32 fights (with 23 KO wins), or that the “Coloradito” was indeed taller and bigger (it took him 3 tries at the scale before making the 130 lb. limit the day before the fight). The Pacman had a lot riding in the fight, including at least a couple more mega-buck fights against the better-known fighters in his weight class.
Then again, it also would not have done to go into the congressional elections in his native General Santos, beaten by a nondescript foe as Solis.
No way, Jorge.
So it was that Pacquiao probed and tip-toed in and out against the unorthodox fighter who, even if not exactly fleet of foot, was no stationary target. He would move his head incessantly to and for, forwards and backwards as well as sideways, all with the end in view of staying away from the vaunted haymakers of the “Mexecutioner.”
Solis was content staying with the uncharacteristically lumbering, deliberate and cautious Filipino icon. The Mexican probably figured: “If he’s not going to make a move, then I won’t. I’ll just enjoy the ride.”
Obviously, Pacquiao had other things in mind as at the start of the fourth, he started to gun his motor to catch his opponent’s attention and respect. He didn’t want Solis gaining too much confidence. He landed some crisp lefts to the face and body, but towards the end, Solis was also able to get in some licks of his own. Not too hard, but he indeed landed some.
Probably buoyed by an impressive ending to round 4, Solis decided to launch his own attack and caught Manny with some scoring shots. Again, not much damage done but solid shots just the same. In the closing seconds of round 5, Solis momentarily had Pacquiao on the ropes, to the panic of Filipino fans who still remembered that infamous round 3 dalliance with danger against Oscar Larios. But it turned out to be the best Solis could muster against his highly-revered opponent.
The Pacman was unperturbed and again picked up the pace in round 6, only to suffer a cut after a clash of heads. But the ugly gash over his left eyelid seemed to serve as a wake-up call to the fighter regarded by many as the most colorful in the world of boxing today.
After castigating himself for allowing the head butt to happen, a sense of urgency seemed to come over Pacquiao. He moved in for the kill, and let Solis feel the sting of his punches. Behind left-right combos, Pacquiao launched the death chase on Coloradito who hastened to backtrack in the face of the ferocious onslaught. Solis was inundated under ta rain of punches in round 6.
During the break, Solis sat looking aghast and jolted from a ride he had been enjoying. He had been satisfied waltzing along with Pacquiao and would have been happy just to finish the fight, win or lose. Alas, he was now being stalked and he looked worried and downright scared.
As the bell for round 7 rang, he had obviously decided he was not going to get caught engaging the Pacman in a slugfest. He spent the entire round using up every square inch of the ring away from his charging foe.
In round 8, Pacquiao let out all the stops and decked Solis twice. The first time the Mexican appeared unsure whether to just let everything slide and get to the inevitable conclusion or to put up some semblance of a fight. His ego probably won out, and he quickly got to his feet to beat the count. But it took just a few more punches from Pacquiao to convince Jorge Solis that the prudent, wise and healthy move was to stay on the canvass, safe from that wild man from Mindanao.
The game Mexicano was quoted after the fight saying “with respects to Pacquiao, my wife hits harder. He was very fast, very quick. I didn’t see those punches.”
Clearly, Solis was trying to downplay the fact that he was simply not on the same proficiency level as the Pacman. Or perhaps he really didn’t know how hard he was hit, or what hit him.
He was probably too busy trying to stay on his feet. Unsuccessfully, as it turns out.
