In a friendly against England, in the late 1970s, the great Brazilian football midfielder Roberto Rivelino put on a clinic of power football. Even late in his international career, Rivelino completed about 95% of his passes, an astonishing number when one considers he rarely resorted to simple shuttle touches or straight lined passes. For Rivelino, the object of his game was to play with optimal power, putting the opposition under pressure immediately and breaking down all defensive alignments assigned against him. In a boxing sense, that was the nature and resolve of Acelino Freitas, until he decided to become a boxer-puncher, instead of an all out attacking force of nature seeking the most devastating punching avenues, delivering debilitating punishment until the opponent was decimated.
Then in the summer of 2001 – Freitas still 26 – he and trainer Oscar Suarez feared that his pure punchers style, based on surging and swarming attacks, high punch volumes and signature left hook deliveries was a young man’s style that couldn’t long be sustained. With fights against Joel Casamayor and Floyd Mayweather in his possible future, the thinking was he’d need more dimensions to compete successfully. Ultimately, in retooling his offensive orientated power style into a composed, clinical hitting style some would argue the ‘heart’ was taken from his ability to fight to his absolute maximum. Without the free wheeling attacking offense Freitas took away his best weapon, total commitment to attack fighting.
Yes, perhaps, it was his ability to box with some strategic elements that aided him in his victory over Joel Casamayor in January, 2002 and yet it was this situational hitting that left him vulnerable and operationally indecisive last August, against Diego Corrales. In any event the fear of fighting Freitas, the bomber, disappeared and so did his mystique and intangible championship quality.
And thus we come to Manny Pacquiao, by way of analogy, comparison by inference and implied parallel. We hear that Pacquiao is happy with his new promotional arrangements with Gary Shaw and that time has healed the wounds inflicted by the masterful Erik Morales in March, 2005. We also hear from trainer Freddie Roach that he and Pac Man have been busy working on developing the range and velocity of the Pacquiao right lead, the jab. Word from the closed Pacquiao camp is that he’s been moving off from exchanges more often, angling away to reset to hit on the counter at times and changing up his pace with middling assertions to the body instead of blinding attacks, all the time moving his head ala a youthful Mike Tyson. Well, no one would begrudge a fighter training to move his head as he attacks through or defends within his ring positions.
Doesn’t a question almost raise itself? Is this the real Manny Pacquiao? Perhaps, the worry looming for Pacquiao fans might be the temptation that maturing bombers feel – along with their trainers – to retool themselves into boxers who can hit. Surely that philosophy, espoused successfully by Buddy McGirt with Arturo Gatti succeeded in prolonging a fading career. In Pacquiao’s case he’s still a fighter in his optimal prime, still capable of all out physicality and dominating speed. Is he not?
We leave aside questions of confidence and dedication, even after the rough housing Morales fight.
The admittedly limited query suggested here revolves around the apparent preparation of a Pacquiao to box first then bang, weighting diversity and dimension over power striking because it’s deemed to be an obvious move of maturation for a veteran ring campaigner. But are not some fighters only viable and dominating when fighting from their core set of stylistic values, competing in a manner that suits their very personality? Becoming a boxer, a fighter creating certain geometries was the eventual death of “Popo” Freitas as a championship fighter with a proven capacity to dominate. Severed from the mindset to attack, as an all out stalking knockout artist, Freitas irreparably diminished himself.
Some point to the middle and late rounds of Pacquiao’s battle with Juan Manuel Marquez as all the evidence one needs that Pacquiao’s over all style needed a serious refit. Of course, Marquez’s boxing from an ‘attacking defensive position’ behind a good jab did indeed made Pacquiao look predictable. Then again the counter point would be Pacquiao’s assertions against Marco Antonio Barrera. With speed, a targeting left cross, and surging power combinations, the artifice of Barrera’s combination boxing was crushed. Barrera simply had no defense against that whistling left cross and the follow up body work of Pacquiao. What made it possible was the total commitment of Pacquiao to apply his power with speed; his intent was to literally cave in Barrera’s distance boxing.
One has to think therein lies the truest ring performance level that Pacquiao can bring to his championship boxing. Pacquiao relying on the jab to set distances runs the risk of falling into the trap of developing a ‘defensive to offense’ philosophy, where he seeks to ‘structure’ his offensive boxing. Trainers may shake their heads at the notion, but some fighters are at their absolute best when fighting intuitively, fully flowing out of instinctive applications of their truest ability, their most natural character as a fighter.
Will Pacquiao try to become a situational hitter, setting up fighters with a solid jab and looking to hit the body when he’s worked himself into defendable positions? Because Pacquiao at his best bruised and battered his way through defensive range, past the jab, launching his left cross to the head and then following up on the inside by punishing the body. So one can see the difference is one of total intent vs. analytical application. Perhaps, Pacquiao has become a fire dimmed and he needs to set up his best offensive moments. But against Erik Morales or in a return with Marquez or Barrera can he really hope to ‘outbox-punch’ those consummate boxer-punchers? Won’t the distance and time his jab creates in fact allow the three Mexican masters time and options to counter him, instead of allowing him attack options? Can he really hope to work the body, as he says he’s rededicated himself to so doing, if he’s thinking, in part, defensively?
Some great fighters are indeed all or nothing specialists, fighters like Ketchel, Dempsey, Greb, Armstrong, Marciano, Frazier, Chacon, Zamora, etc. Sometimes the mind has to be clear to follow the passionate impulses of ones nature, with the talents applied to the limit of reflexive intuition. Just how technical can Pacquiao’s boxing become, setting up behind an improved jab, improvising with planned body attacks, darting his head, shifting from defense to offense and back again? Is some Roach applied planning and tactical awareness reviewed the same as retooling the typhoon from the Philippines into a conscientious boxer armed with all out hitting power ala Barrera? Or is it to give him a look of a young Mike Tyson, with a touch of Barrera? Imprecise comparisons, indeed!
How about we match up the fighting styles to the names of Manny Pacquiao, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales before throwing in the name Juan Manuel Marquez and then ponder their respective historical intersections careful to step over all the ironies resulting. Phew! What a mess of contradictions. We might also say that just because Barrera went from winging hooker to boxing master doesn’t mean it’s a lock for Pacquiao. Are we again assuming too much?
Well, one has to wonder – based on recent performances – just what Manny Pacquiao thinks might be his upside as he moves forward, in the gym, under the watchful eye of Freddie Roach, learning ways to reinvent himself, so he can get back to being his old self again.
The pretense being he’s going forward to get back to basics, learning new things to remember that he’s a champion, still.
Talk about hoping to come full circle by straightening out a few essentials.
Contributing Editor Patrick Kehoe may be reached at [email protected]
