LET’S do it now and see who’s the bigger cabron, grunted Erik Morales in his turn to speak during the final presscon of his showdown against Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last month.
You’re free to interpret what that word cabron means, but to Latinos, it could be equal to a man’s guts, or cojones, to be truly macho-Mex about it.
Pacquiao, who had spoken earlier, could not properly react.
In the first place, Morales bragged, Mexicans don’t step back in a fight.
This curious detail didn’t see print but Morales had the last say in his raging word war against Pacquiao prior to their explosive fight at the MGM Garden Arena. The world saw in Las Vegas last month how Pacquiao had to do a lot of stepping back against Morales.
No, Pacquiao was not exactly outfought.
The Filipino ring idol poured it all on and sought the elusive knockout until the final bell despite being cut and bloodied in the fifth round.
Pacquiao was, however, clearly outmaneuvered and out-punched by the masterful Morales, who often appeared like an instructor conducting a lesson inside the ring.
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Anyway, did you hear this stupid suspicion going the rounds that Pacquiao had been cheated?
Last Friday, on our way to hear the first-Friday Mass at the Church of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, we heard fans grumbling that a tiny amount of blood taken from Pacquiao two days before the fight had caused the deterioration in the fighter’s vaunted power.
For the record, Pacquiao had himself assured his countrymen on the eve of the big bout that the blood test had not affected him a bit.
If it’s true that Team Pacquiao had raised the blood test as an alibi, they should also start inventing an excuse for Pacquiao’s next fight — right now.
There have been strange twists after that heart-rending Pacquiao setback in Las Vegas.
Last Friday, Pacquiao told mediamen during the SCOOP sa Kamayan forum on Padre Faura Street that he would move out from the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood and train either in Arizona or the Big Bear in the California mountain outskirts.
Pacquiao was quoted as having said he did not want to be distracted in training.
He swore in the same forum that he did not want spies to be able to study his moves.
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Well, it’s to each his own.
Morales did train in seclusion, but Team Pacquiao cannot claim they did not have the proper inputs on the Aztec warrior.
The Morales style was there for the whole world to see.
It was however obvious that Morales’ handlers did their homework and was able to fully exploit Pacquiao’s glaring weaknesses.
After Pacquiao failed to land his fabled haymaker inside five rounds, the fight turned tactical, with the faith of the whole campaign left in the hands of trainer Freddie Roach.
Pacquiao, no doubt, has been a very coachable fighter.
He has relied wholly on Roach on what to do before and during a big fight.
No, this is not to say Pacquiao has become a Roach robot.
But experts and plain fans cannot be blamed if they’ve started to wonder about the true worth of Roach, the trainer whom Pacquiao has made to be adored here in the Philippines.
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There’s this growing feeling that Pacquiao, given the proper adjustments, could’ve won the war against Morales.
A basic flaw was the inability of Pacquiao to shift stance once Morales would push onto his left side, thereby rendering the killer left hook a dud. Many times, Pacquiao, throwing a left punch, would appear like a driver pulling up the fender of his stuck car from the gutter.
Pacquiao was often awkward, frantic, ineffective.
There were a lot of tactical flaws that, if corrected, could’ve tremendously enhanced Pacquiao’s chances against Morales.
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This brings to mind Pacquiao’s fight against Juan Manuel Marquez, who managed to survive and earn a draw despite being floored three times in the first round last May.
Nacho Beristain, Marquez’s chief handler, had clearly outwitted Roach in that battle of tacticians.
Roach’s glaring flaws and shortcomings were however aptly covered with alibis, topped by that one about thin, inferior socks causing Pacquiao to develop toe blisters.
In the final reckoning, the biggest problem for the RP campaign came after Roach had made Pacquiao believe he was too fast and strong for the older Morales.
When Morales showed up at his best and proved superior in major departments, Roach could not react properly.
Roach, a dear friend we truly respect, is indeed a terrific trainer.
But Pacquiao may have to rely on a better tactician, who will plot and call the shots at the height of battle, if he’s to pick up the pieces of his career.
