ADD a lethal right hand to the arsenal of punches of Manny Pacquiao, who showed some of the damage it could do in his fourth-round knockout of Thailand?s Fahsan 3K Battery Saturday night at the Fort Bonifacio Global City open-air arena in Taguig.
A natural southpaw, the Filipino repeatedly tagged the Thai with his explosive right, scoring in combinations that had the outclassed Fahsan reeling from the opening bell in front of around 25,000 fans.
Those telling blows set Pacquiao up for the killer left uppercut that ended the scheduled 12-round bout with 1 minute and 26 seconds left in the fourth round.
Still struggling from a third knockdown early in the fourth from a previous left uppercut, Fahsan tried to duck what he thought was another booming right?unable to see and sense the danger coming from the left.
That last uppercut struck Fahsan on the right jaw, lifting him from the canvas before the Thai contender finally dropped in the center of the ring like a collapsed accordion.
After surviving three earlier knockdowns, the tough Thai tried to get up for a fourth time but was so dazed that he just rolled over as his seconds worriedly attended to him.
?We?ve been working on that punch since we fought Juan Manuel Marquez. But during the last three weeks with him, I was able to make the punch shorter and connect harder. And you saw what it did,? said American trainer Freddie Roach of the Filipino?s new weapon.
?Manny?s right hook is as strong as his left straight. It just needs a little training. In his last fights, he has been relying mostly on his left, especially when we faced Marquez,? he added. ?Now he has something new when we face the Mexican again.?
After fighting to a controversial draw on May 9 at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas, the Filipino will have a return bout against the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association featherweight kingpin on February 26.
And compared to his P17-million purse against the Thai?part of which he gave to the victims of the recent typhoons??PacMan? will evenly split the $1.8-million purse with Marquez, who managed to survive three knockdowns against the Filipino in the first round to salvage the draw.
Roach paid tribute to the resiliency of Fahsan, saying: ?He probably was in the best shape and in the best fight of his life. Unfortunately he is not a high-quality fighter in the caliber of a Marquez or a Marco Antonio Barrera.?
The American trainer was also pleased ?that everything went according to plan and that Manny was able to get in some rounds.?
?We will work on his footwork next and some other things when he gets back to the US. I?m glad I was able to come, I think he?s about 80 percent fit since I came to train him,? Roach added.
?It took me only three days for him to get back where I wanted him to be. He respects me that much. It also a good foundation to work on since Marquez has already been training hard,? said Roach, who leaves on Monday.
He disclosed that he has advanced the departure of Pacquiao, who was originally set to leave on January 10, to the first week of January.
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?I?m glad that I was able to keep Pacquiao in the gym. It?s the downtime which is often dangerous for boxers,? Roach said.
Before calling it a night, he described Manny as a ?thoroughbred.? ?I think we?ve seen all that Marquez could do in his last fight while I believe that Manny can offer more.?
American promoter Murad Muhammad also praised the presence of Roach in coming over on short notice and take charge of Pacquiao?s preparations.
?Pacquiao was in A-1 shape tonight. But without Roach, he might have been in B-shape and then we would have been in trouble,? Murad said.
?Manny threw the kitchen sink yet he [Fahsan] kept coming back for more. This shows that the Thai was not a pushover. He was very durable. But there was no way he could beat Pacquiao because ours was in tip-top shape,? Murad said.
Pacquiao himself saluted his game but overmatched rival, although he thought Fahsan should have stayed in his corner after being knocked down for the second time at the end of the third round.
?Alam kong bibigay na. Tinignan ko ?yong corner ni Fahsan at umiling-iling ako para tumigil na siya. Pero gusto pa, wala na akong magawa [I knew he [Fahsan] was about to give up. I looked at his corner and shook my head for them to stop. But they wanted to continue, there was nothing I could do],? Pacquiao said.
?Nang ma-knockdown si Fahsan bago matapos ang third, alam na nga namin na bibigay na, kaya sinabihan namin si Manny na dumikit siya [When Fahsan got knocked down at the end of the third, we knew he was ready to buckle. That?s why we instructed Manny to go in for the kill],? Buboy Fernandez, the boxer?s trainer-confidante, said.
Although his boxer got badly beaten, Jimmy Chaichotchueng, Fahsan?s manager, thanked Manny for allowing his boxer to fight the Filipino boxing idol.
?We wanted a better fight. He is the best. If that is the way he is going to fight, he will beat Marquez.?
What Pacquiao has done makes us proud that he comes from Asia,? Chaichotchueng said.
