After last week?s Pinoy Pride 35 fights, many people immediately asked if ?Prince? Albert Pagara was ready for the big-time and if Mark ?Magnifico? Magsayo could get closer to become among the world?s elite featherweights. As expected, the two schools of thought came out in terms of either criticisms or praises. As a review, both boxers scored unanimous decision wins against opponents who refused to mix it up and preferred to stay away from danger. Pagara outscored Yesner Talavera of Nicaragua, while Magsayo shut out Edward Montoya of Mexico. The visitors were on reverse mode for practically the entire fight and never challenged their Pinoy hosts to an exchange of fists in the middle of the ring.
After the fights, many thought the fights were boring since the visitors refused to mix it up. There was no ?bakbakan,? no knock-outs, and no heavy punches landed in bunches. It was a dull and boring sight of watching Pagara and Magsayo stalking and chasing down their opponents all over the ring with the hope of landing the blows that would excite the crowd. While both were able to send their foes to the canvas once, that was about it. The big blows that fans were looking for weren?t there as the opponents were excellent in eluding punches. The decision was such a no-brainer that people flocked to the exits even before the official scores were announced for the Pagara-Montoya main event. But while the fight was ?boring,? did this mean that this was a poor fight for both Pagara and Magsayo? Does it mean that both didn?t stand to gain from their respective fights? This is where the other school of thought kicks in, and with which I agree.
Fights that last the distance are excellent opportunities for learning for any boxer. While fans always want to see fights that end in knock-outs, managers and trainers don?t mind if their boxers get in a lot of mileage on top of the ring in an actual fight (and not in sparring). They stand to gain tons of experience, exposure and learn more about themselves. More importantly, they?ll get to see the improvement areas that they need to work on when they go back to the gym. Nobody said Pagara and Magsayo were perfect. Far from it. They?ve got a lot to learn and the best classroom for this is that blue canvas on which they make a living and become students of the sweet science of boxing. While speed, power and throwing punches in combinations are not a major issue, analysts saw the other parts of the game that both Pagara and Magsayo need to work on. For starters, we all saw how they need to adjust to boxers who simply run away and look to score points by punching in reverse and are successful at it. Note that there are many champions who have won in this fashion. Floyd Mayweather is the master of this breed. Mayweather doesn?t go out to beat up an opponent. He studies his foes, moves in reverse, and counter-punches his way effectively to score points. And when he has completely read his opponent, he pounces on him and takes him out when he can. If he can?t, he stays on his bicycle to score a points win. Remember the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight? Mayweather made the Pacman look like a Pagara chasing Talavera.
The difference was that Mayweather was successful in landing clean blows that threw off Pacquiao?s game. Mayweather?s defense was also at its best that he could avoid the Pacman?s speed and punches, something nobody has been able to do before. Pacquiao may have landed the more telling blows, but these were few and outnumbered by Mayweather?s punches. And this is what the judges saw, regardless of what we Pacman fans say. Guillermo Rigondeaux is another case study, but he is so boring that promoters shun from promoting fights with him since he can?t make a fight exciting for fans because of his style. Rigo dealt Nonito Donaire a heart-breaking loss by applying the same counter-punching ways fighting in reverse mode but actually out-punching Donaire. He simply waited on Donaire?s first moves before reacting and landing the more accurate punches. But did he chase Donaire across the ring? Did he look for a knock-out to please the fans? Certainly not. And he still came out as a winner by unanimous decision, taking away Donaire?s world title. The irony of it all is that Talavera and Montoya are nowhere near the level of Mayweather and Rigondeaux. And this makes last Saturday?s fights more relevant.
Pagara and Magsayo will have to make major adjustments especially when they face boxers who fight like Mayweather and Rigondeaux. And they?ll be up there in future fights. If Pagara and Magsayo want to become world champions, they?ll need to work on so much more to beat opponents of this boxing style. They?ll need speed, faster movement across the ring to cut corners, excellent timing, and also excellent defense while moving forward. If they master all these, they?ll be able to beat all kinds of boxers with different fighting styles or schools.
Let?s put everything in the proper perspective. Are Pagara and Magsayo future world champions? Not yet for certain. But if they work on certain elements of their game, they could very well be on their way there.
