And Then He Was Gone ? Manny Leaves Behind a Sense of Quiet…For now
HBO’s 24/7 fed us just enough, gave us just enough of a tase to satisfy our hunger for the big ?DREAM MATCH,? between pound for pound king, Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya. Then the big fight happened, and we all watched the little guy beat the crap out of the big bad wolf. Pacquiao shocked the boxing world, and made most of us writers eat a plate of crow, including yours truly.
Leading up to the fight, there were all of the Pre fight press conferences, and even some smack talk from Master Freddie. Freddie Roach? Yes, Freddie Roach…. He did a lot of talking leading up to this scrap, he even admitted it in a recent interview that we did with him here at the 8,
Arum was talking, Freddie was talking, Oscar was talking, Nacho was talking, Floyd Mayweather Sr was talking, everybody was talking. Speaking of Floyd Mayweather Sr, where’s he been lately? I haven’t heard much out of Mr Mayweather since he was last heard calling Coach Roach a joke, and basically telling the world that Pacquiao would be a piece of gum on the bottom of Oscar’s shoe. It’s funny how things come to a quiet silence once the guns stop, and the battle comes to a close.
Manny Pacquiao on national television in front of 1.25 million viewers, and a house full at the MGM Grand, put on a boxing clinic that will go down as one of the most lopsided beat downs in modern boxing history. If he didn’t retire Oscar for good, someone needs to really have a talk with ?The Golden Boy.?
So now he’s gone. Pacquiao got on a plane and landed back in The Philippines to a hero’s welcome. The Wild Card Gym still goes on of course, but it’s not the same without Pacquiao in town. Roach of course gets up, has his coffee, and walks across the parking lot from his apartment to the gym like he always does. I asked Freddie if Manny will get a well deserved break, and he told me, ?Yes, he will, but I have to train Andrei Arlovski in the morning.? No break for Roach, it’s business as usual for him….well sort of anyway.
Pacquiao is gone, he’s back in his homeland with his beautiful wife Jinky awaiting the arrival of their baby girl. Back on the mainland things just aren’t quite the same without him. It’s quiet around here for now, but don’t get too comfortable with that, because I hear ?Money? Mayweather’s gears spinning. I also hear (probably a little bit louder) the sounds of the drums, and songs of the Hatton faithful from the other side of the pond.
Yea, it’s a little quiet around here right now. But soon enough once again, the warrior from General Santos City will be back. And he will be back on a whole new level.
