A VICTORY DESPITE THE DEFEAT!
After Manny Pacquiao couldn’t land the home run blow that would’ve put Erik Morales to sleep, fans doubted if Pacquiao could ever be the “Pac-Man” that ate up Marco Antonio Barrera back in 2003. However, Manny didn’t embarrass himself against “El Terrible” and more importantly, only lost by two points in a fight in which he went through distractions, both before, and during the fight. To some, the light seemed to dim for the former three-division champion from General Santos City in the Philippines.
FORMER PROMOTER EXILED TO SIBERIA
Estranged, and now ex-promoter Murad Muhammad, is no longer in Pacquiao’s world, and Morales’ promoter Bob Arum wanted to stage a money-making rematch. Thus, the redevelopment of the “Pac-Man” has begun, which included new management (led by Shelly Finkel) and a new promoter in Gary Shaw (who promotes “Winky” Wright and Diego Corrales, two ‘pound for pound’ fighters). Together with trainer and mentor Freddie Roach, the Pacquiao team is finally all on the same page (by page, I mean the checkbook).
IS MANNY PACQUIAO GOING MAINSTREAM?
Although boxing as a whole hasn’t been as popular in the mainstream of sports since circa 1982, the expanding coverage of ESPN (and its many sub-channels), the internet, and various sponsorships have provided today’s generation with boxing “stars” which include: Fernando Vargas, Arturo Gatti, James Toney, Roy Jones, Erik Morales, and many more. These fighters are not necessarily the best fighters in the game, but rather some of the bigger names in the sport.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NAME & ABILITY!
Comparing them to the NFL, if Peyton Manning is clearly the best quarterback, Tom Brady is clearly the biggest name in America’s number one sport. Not only do they have exceptional talents inside the ring, they’re persona beyond the ropes make them a boxing “star” and a gate attraction. Currently, Manny Pacquiao has never been the main headliner or a proven mainstream star, but the advertisements, special guests, and theme songs for Pacquiao look like signs of a boxing star in the making.
PACLAND HITS IN THE O.C!
Last Thursday, Manny Pacquiao was privileged enough to be one of the few boxers to throw out the ceremonial first pitch of a pivotal divisional match-up between the top two team in the American League (MLB), the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Oakland Athletics. Although people who throw out the first pitch have ranged from the President, to an elementary student (who has perfect attendance), the timing of Pacquiao’s pitch was perfect seeing his fight with Hector Velazquez will take place in less than a week.
THE PHENOM BACKS THE PACMAN
Every so often, “Ring Talk Radio” covers the popular world of mixed martial arts and professional wrestling. One of the biggest figures in wrestling is Mark Calloway. Those who follow World Wrestling Entertainment view Calloway in his role as “The Undertaker” as a true legend. Mark has stood the test of time, debuting in the WWF back in November 1992. Undertaker never really needed the WWE championship to be successful in the ring, since his fan base has never died down. Even for a three-year period, when he dumped the “dead man” gimmick for a motorcycle driving bad ass, fans demanded he return to being the Undertaker.
UNDERTAKER AT MOST BIG FIGHTS
Currently, he, back as the dead man, is in a bitter feud with rising WWE superstar Randy Orton. Popular in the Philippines as well, the Undertaker has been known to use an array of boxing moves in the ring. A true fan of boxing, Undertaker is especially keen on Manny Pacquiao. Thus he accepted the offer to represent Pacquiao and carry the United States flag for Team Pacquiao. Standing close to 7 feet, he won’t be hard to find when he leads Manny to the ring against Hector Velazquez this Saturday on HBO. Erik Morales is a big wrestling fan as well, and is marrying the daughter of a Tijuana wrestling promoter.
PACMAN THEME SONG & THE “BLACK EYE PEAS
One radio talk show host of note always states that it is a curse for a boxer to rap his way into the ring. Corey Spinks and Vernon Forrest experienced the jinx first hand, after exciting entrances, which lead to humiliating knockouts. Grammy Award winning Hip Hop group, Black Eyed Peas, volunteered their services to produce a theme song for Pacquiao, which will debut in his fight against Velazquez. Allen Pineda Lindo (AKA apl.de.ap), born in the Philippines, produced the Pacquiao anthem. The song that will be heard this Saturday will be a first draft that will be completed after the fight. Since the BEP’s are currently on tour, they will finish the track once Pacquiao adds his vocals to the track.
STARRING ON THE BIG SCREEN…
Last Saturday for the first time in Philippine and U.S movie industry, there was a simultaneous release of Pacquiao’s movie entitled “Licensed Fist.” Not only was the premiere shown on the many cinemas in the Philippines, but in two theatres in California (one in San Francisco and one in Los Angeles). Pacquiao has starred in movies before, along with guest appearances in popular Philippine sitcoms and game shows. Past Filipino greats like Luisito Espinosa have capitalized on their popularity in starring in action movies. Critics have dubbed Pacquiao has the “Rambo” of the Philippines. Seeing he co-stars with (Aubrey Miles and Juliana Palermo), Pacquiao is more like the “James Bond” of the Philippines.
SPORTS, MOVIES, MUSIC, & FASHION TOO?
Paclanders around the world search long and hard for the famous “NOFEAR” headbands Pacquiao wears into battle every time he fights. According to his main adviser and assistant, Joe Ramos, team Pacquiao plans to release a fashion line called “the Manny Pacquiao Collection.” Samples have already been made from jackets to tee shirts as his handlers look to further market Pacquiao.
IN THE END WHAT MATTERS…
Although it’s nice to hear about Pacquiao’s ventures beyond boxing, his bread and butter in life is still in the squared circle. He still needs to focus on his battle against rugged Hector Velazquez. All the advertisements and sponsorship would be trivial, if he doesn’t look good against a fighter, who is clearly a level below him. Also in the back of Manny’s head is the multi-million dollar rematch with Erik Morales, should he defeat the Mexican. Pacquiao is in a very fortunate position, should he defeat Velazquez, that fights against Morales or Marco Antonio Barrera would not only earn him big paydays, but the security to know that should he lose, he won’t tumble down that slippery slop that has plagued so many past champions prior.
DOUBLE TROUBLE PREVIEW THIS WEEK
Expect a complete breakdown of the mega-show this Friday after the weigh-in. The Pinoy will analyze both Super featherweight bouts, plus the fights with Filipinos Rey Bautista and Brain Villoria.
QUICK JABS
GERRY P NEWS: Expect former world champion, Gerry Penalosa, to eke out three or four more good fights and call it a career. Hopefully, at that point he would have enough money to set him up for life in the Philippines. TRADED KNOCKDOWNS! Penalosa and Pacquiao used to trade knockdowns in sparring back when Pacquiao was an up and coming flyweight… LOUIE STILL A VICTIM OF PHILIPPINE BUSINESS: Former two-division champion Luisito Espinosa does deserve his paycheck that he was cheated out of back in 1998. However, from 1999-2000 Espinosa had two chances to makes huge paydays. The first was his controversial loss to Cesar Soto, ending his seven WBC title defense reign. The loss also denied Louie the chance to fight the moneyman, “Prince Naseem” Hamed. The second missed opportunity was his disappointing upset loss to Guty Espadas. Erik Morales was begging to fight Espinosa and would have, had “King Louie” defeated Espadas. Both fights involved minimal distractions, but Espinosa just couldn’t reclaim his dominate past. It’s hard to believe, five years later, with four knockout defeats in six fights, Espinosa can ever recapture that magic. In the opinion of many, the now 38-year old would have to be reincarnated to win the title he still dreams of.
