Another edition of MannyMania is in the books. Again, the Filipino Flash, the marvelous multitasker, put a beating on a bigger man, dominated him, showed himself to be a practitioner of the sweet science on a completely different level than his foe.
All did not go smoothly…the crowd, as the attendance at Cowboys Stadium was a “mere” 41, 734. It was hoped for by the promoter and expected by Manny-acs that the gate would surpass Pacquiao-Clottey this March, which tallied 50,994, and the indoor record of 63, 315 for Ali-Spinks II, at the Louisiana Superdome, 17 years before the President of the United States fiddled while 35,000 citizens huddled in the building, as Hurricane Katrina raged outside, and showed our nation that we have fallen far when it comes for caring for the less fortunate, and those in peril.
There was much posturing before the bout, as Team Margarito called Manny’s handwraps foul, and Team Pacquiao thought Margarito might’ve tried to get unfair advantage by taking an energy drink which might have contained ephedra. That fact hasn’t been clearly established, as the stated drink, called Hydroxycut, almost certainly could not have contained ephedra, since that substance has been banned in the US since 2004…unless that container was manufactured and purchased elsewhere, somewhere where ephedra is legal. But the crowd and the legal-speed ingestion aside…Manny looked magnificent, taking every round with his now trademark agility, hand speed and relentless predation. He rendered a man many of us didn’t stand much of a chance (Here’s what I wrote on Friday, before the fight: “I’m guessing he, for one, might well go down, but I foresee Margarito being too stubborn to be counted out, or to quit, as Freddie Roach has predicted. Going the distance might well be victory enough for the Mexican, who I think knows darn well that Manny’s agility and hand speed are in another league entirely.”) even less effective than we thought possible. Same as he did Clottey, Cotto, Hatton, Oscar, Diaz etc.
It’s been two and half years since anyone has bothered Manny, besides autograph seekers. So now we wonder what’s next? What about the last guy to trouble him, Marquez? If Marquez gets past Michael Katsidis on Nov. 27, not a given. ..Yep, JMM is toiling at 135 now, but how about we find a catchweight for them to do it again? That matchup would meet fan approval, as would Manny fighting the winner of the Paul Williams-Sergio Martinez fight this Saturday. Top Rank and Freddie Roach seem inclined to yank Manny back to 147 or less, but after he had his way with a man 17 pounds heavier than him Saturday, their call to drop back in weight loses some of its urgency and validity. Just guessing here, but I think Roach sees enough holes in Williams that he’d let Manny take on LTP, but the as agile-as-Manny Martinez would not pass muster with Coach Roach. A year ago, one would’ve thought by now Andre Berto would be in the mix to get a Manny fight, but his career has stalled. He’ll fight Nov. 27, against unknown, outside of the hardcore, Freddy Hernandez, and a win there won’t up his stock. It’ll take some K Street level lobbying to get Berto into the mix for the Mannybucks runoff. What about the gang down at 140? Alexander or Bradley winner? Khan-Maidana winner? Or will Top Rank try to keep it in their family again? One of the Chavez boys, Junior or Omar? Alfonso Gomez, if he beats Junior on Dec. 4? Cotto again? Mike Jones? Vanes Martirosyan? Brandon Rios? The canny politician Bob Arum put up a trial ballon, when he mentioned Shane Mosley for Manny, but I don’t think even the publicity ace Arum can get the faded Mosley, 39-years-old, 2-2-1 in his last five, past the message board crowd, and thus, the keyboard tappers who can’t simply toe the promoter party line anymore, unless they want to be savaged by the commenter class.
Mosley had ten seconds of success against Mayweather, and then was unable to pull the trigger against Sergio Mora. Brain willing, body rebelling.
Manny would simply punish him, and since there wouldn’t be any compelling good guy vs. bad guy storyline for us to mull, too much focus would be on what Mosley has left. Here’s the succint summation: not enough for at-the-peak-of-his-career-I-don’t-care-what-Max-Kellerman-says Pacquiao.
Anyway, we’ll certainly hear from TSS Universe, and the people at Top Rank read your comments, so it may be that your input will help shape what comes next for the Congressman. We heard from you postfight, and you showed your usual speed and sharpness as you assessed the latest edition of MannyMania. Here are the top 17, in honor of the number of pounds Margarito weighed more than Manny. Thanks, as always.
17) #1 PacFan: Next for Manny would have to be the winner of Williams-Martinez at 154. If Manny was able to take Margarito’s punches I would think he can handle theirs. Both PW and SM don’t have very good chins like Marg so I expect Manny to hurt them at some point where they get knocked down. Mayweather is just too scared to fight Pac and Kellerman said it best, he is waiting for Manny to slow down a bit. He waits for his opponents to get vulnerable, he saw Mosley get beat by Cotto so he went for it.
16) The Roast: Forget about Floyd. He will never get in the ring with Manny. No guts. He (ED. NOTE: Apparently) hits women in front of his children. Flawed human being at best. Forget this scumbag. Can any of you ever imagine Floyd Mayweather getting in the ring giving away 15 to 20 lbs? No way. I’d like to see Pacman fight some of the younger fighters from 140 to 147. Manny will do it. This man does not shy away from challenges. All hail the pound for pound king.
15) Fe’Roz: Enjoy him my brothers. You may never see another like him in your lifetime. My first thought watching was that Floyd won’t like what he saw tonight. Floyd is gifted but Manny is a phenomenon. He was hitting a brick sh-thouse at will, all night, stopping a perpetual motion volume puncher in this tracks. And putting a non-stop beat down on him like most watching couldn’t believe. And I was sitting next to Juanma and Miguel Cotto, both of whom were expecting a tough fight. So say what we will, Juanma and Arce (two rows over) were drawing their finger across their necks…. Watching Manny destroy Margarito. The man is off the charts. You can’t compare him to anyone. He dominates great fighters. And he entertains while he does it. Every round, if Floyd can summon what it takes to meet him, he might….I say might….be able to beat him. But he will sure as hell get hurt trying.
14) Frank Z @ Fe’Roz: I think you’re overreaching a bit. Pac’s got power yeah, he’s got speed yeah, he’s got durability and toughness in spades. But let’s not pretend that he, just like Floyd hasn’t benefited from good matchmaking. Combining popularity with promotional muscle means you can dictate a lot of what you want, and Freddie Roach is called one of the best matchmakers of our era. What did Margarito have, other than some new fundamentals taught to him by Garcia when his whole career got called into question cause of the wraps? Margarito was big, yes. But look at his speed now and see how he’s slowed down from 5 years ago, when he was never fast to begin with. If the guy’s a punching bag you can look amazing. Yeah Margarito threw more than Clottey, but he threw about 1/4 as fast. Let’s hold off a bit till we see him against someone who can evade punches. If the slickest dude you’ve ever fought is Miguel Cotto we’ve got some questions left still.
13) The Truth Hurts: @Frank Z: Call it good matchmaking, call it whatever you want, but the fact remains that Cotto, Clottey and Margarito are at the top of the welterweight heap. It took Pacquiao 12 months to dismantle them. It took Mayweather 5 years to face ONE, who happened to be an aging, inactive Mosley. If it weren’t for Goldenboy giving Berto step aside money in order to cash out on what Golden boy knew was a shell of Mosley, Mayweather wouldn’t have fought Mosley. And we all saw what happened there. Had Mayweather fought Mosley not 10 years earlier, but just 10 MONTHS earlier, Mosley would’ve knocked him out.
12) In Touch: If anyone refuses to see that Manny is one of the greats, it’s because their ignorance or hatred will not allow them to see. And that’s all right. Every man has his limitation. Refusing to see the obvious is a limitation. What I witnessed tonight is nothing short of excellence and brilliance. Manny proved something else that others doubted. He has amazing movement and ability to box. And his heart is bigger than that of any man. He has class. He could have knocked out Tony in the last round, but chose not to hurt him any more. I have said this many times, folks, enjoy greatness. There will never be anything this great in our lifetime. They will come close, maybe, but they will not be like him. They will lack one thing: A country of 90 million whose breath would stop if he lost. It is reason enough for this man to lay everything on the line and win. 90 million reasons to win. And with each passing fight that number keeps going higher and higher by the millions. It’s not just the Filipinos he makes proud. He makes people proud. This humble man is greatness in a small package.
11) Yuvie: We all know Pacquiao was and will be seen in the history books as an all-time great. I don’t look to see what any pro-Mayweather tw-ts are sayin on the boards these days, all I can say is that, for me, Pacquiao is a once in a lifetime fighter. I just can’t rate any other fighter in the last 15 years even close to Pac. When I’m older, I’ll be saying “I remember the days of Pacquiao” to the younger boxing generation, guaranteed. The dude has just been a whirlwind to watch over the years. He mashes guys up. Say what you want about the Margarito fight, I admit I was feeling cynical about the fight even happening because of Margarito’s previous actions. That was a hard fought fight by Pacquiao against the largest fighter he’s ever fought. Margarito had his moments but Pacquiao’s skill shined through in the end. That fight should have been stopped in the 10th. No doubt, Mayweather’s got the style to trouble Pacquiao but he’s just never gonna be as memorable or as classy a fighter as Pacquiao has been. As far as Pac’s future is concerned, Mayweather is top of the list but if he don’t want it, forget him, move on. The only other option would be Pwill/Martinez. One of those two fights and that’s it, Pac should call it a day next year, whether Mayweather wants it or not.
10) Bulldog: Manny has got to claim the greatest boxer of all times tag….surpassing the likes of Muhammed Ali. He has dominated over too many divisions comprehensively to be overlooked. I’m not saying other boxers haven’t reached the status of GREAT ACHIEVERS just Manny had now pushed the bar higher than anyone else ever has. A humble man, fearless and ferocious warrior..he encapsulates the sportsman mentality to perfection and is the optimum professional…..a new standard bearer for the sport is here and no one could be any better than Manny to take over from Muhammed Ali.
9) Oakland: Manny Pacquiao is a very GOOD fighter, but let’s take a deep breath and return to Earth here folks. A little context is needed. Yes, Manny dominated Margarito, but let’s examine a plaster-less Margarito a little more closely. In January 2009, he was KO’d by a shot Mosley. He was suspended a year, then fought once more and looked tired. And he had no plaster for this fight. Margarito is arguably not a top-25 guy right now, so we should temper the giddiness just a touch. This was Holmes-Cobb, only with a catchweight. Manny deserves credit for always bringing it and putting on a heck of a show, but he needs to pick a division, dump the catchweight nonsense, and fight the best guys in that division of his choosing. Manny’s Boise State. A good team that plays in a weak/catchweight division (and thus can’t be measured).
8) Anony: Well…. I guess it is me against the world but I truly don’t know… Margarito was 160 something and Pacquiao was 148 for the fight…. that’s just too much weight, power and torque from a bigger guy fighting a smaller guy. Add on that Pacquiao had his worst camp and we even saw Amir Khan having his way sparring just a couple of weeks ago…. Yeah, yeah, call me the party pooper but it won’t surprise me a bit to find out that he is taking something to enhance his endurance and power. He beat Margacheato worst than he beat Cotto and I take the opportunity to remark that obviously Margacheato didn’t show the same power he did with Cotto… so we can tell it is official that he is a cheater. But going back to Manny…. sorry guys, he is showing too much power, too much resistance, stamina and is too dominant….. I will love to be wrong but this is too suspicious. And maybe we are watching the best boxer of all times but this great boxer is just too much…. Now please don’t jump on me like ravens… I will only ask you to think about it twice and without the “Pinoy perspective… just for a moment. I’m sure I can’t be the only one who find Pacman suspicious. At this stage, 8th divisional weight and the way Margacheato was training, I was expecting a much balanced fight or he winning by a razor edge or some points but not like this…. 120-108 and 119-109… big hummmmmmmmm.
7) James Andrade: How about Henry Armstrong when he won as many belts in as many different weight divisions? If Mayweather Sr. was alive in that era, and these performance enhancing drugs were around, then he would accuse Henry of using it, and many will believe him, even the accuser himself was a convicted drug-user. Sad to say to the doubters, Manny has never been tested positive using illegal drugs for better physical conditioning by any boxing body or government health institution. It is easy to accuse but hard to prove it. This thing is just in the mind of the original accuser because his son is afraid to fight the Pacman. Just in the mind. And Mayweather Jr. may fade away in the dust bin of boxing history but his legacy of choosing his opponents he can easily defeat will not fade away. That will cling to his name forever, and that is easy to prove. This is the reason why Pacman has been chosen as “Boxer of The Decade.” He does not run from marquee fighters like Mayweather Jr. Boxing aficionados: give proper credits to greatness, unless other wise proven.
6) Anony: I WON’T RESPOND TO ANY OF YOU… In two or three weeks the Internet will be flooded with this same issue and it won’t be “just me or the Mayweathers or Pac haters”. It will be from writers and boxing commentators having his opinion and I’m sure they will strongly question this for months. Like I said before, I hope Pacman is this good and the zillions of Pinoys can feel proud about it but it won’t surprise me a bit if they find something now or later. AND FOR THE RECORD: I’m not and I will never be a FAKEWEATHER FAN. But also, I’m not a PACMAN-MEGA-FREAK-FAN either who goes crazy believing just what he wish to believe.. there is logic in every process and you have to be rational. Again… 8th divisional weights and 120-108 and 119-109 is just too much. It is irrational.
5) Robert Curtis: You should have waited a few weeks too, you miserable creep. You had to spoil everybody’s joy with your snarky, groundless, self-aggrandizing PED comments, didn’t you? Manny is a hero to so many. He’s brought new life into the sport we all love. Instead of joining in on that love, you’ve got to sneak in with your creepy paranoid hating. Go pee in someone else’s pool. Stay off these posts when people are happy and celebrating. Your negative junk isn’t helping anybody. Plus it shows a total lack of style and class.
4) Ramil Corpuz: Anony, it’s really irrational and that what makes pacquiao so special. He is irrationally gifted, irrationally gracious to his opponents, irrationally talented human being, he is one of a kind. Decades and decades will pass but there will be no other boxer in the whole world who can surpass Manny’s greatness in and out of the ring.
3) CarloKnowsbest1: Congratulations on beating Margarito a victim of Mosley’s, congratulations for beating Cotto, a victim of Margarito, congratulations on beating Hatton, a victim of Mayweather, congratulations on beating David Diaz a victim of Kendall Holt, congratulations on beating Barrera, a victim of Junior Jones, congratulations on beating Erik Morales a victim of Zahir Raheem. Congratulations on beating Oscar, a victim of Mayweather, Trinidad and Hopkins. Keep on fighting the guys who somebody else beat before. Congratulations for winning all your catchweight fights. You are truly the greatest catchweight fighter of all-time.
2) Radam G – _____ ____Pac Entourage = 189: Well! Props to Margarito. He took a beating that he didn’t have to take. Dude has cajones grande. He should have played like a MMA/UFC warrior or pulled a Jimmy Toney and tapped the fudge out after about the seven round. Blue4cor just has given you guys the partial breaking news. The “Express Train” is getting more like a facial overhaul. He is in bad, bad shape. The bout should have been halted by the corner. Boxing is full of optical illusions, and the corner has to know pride from foolishness. It was BIG TIME foolishness for Robert Garcia not to stop that bout. “The Tijuana Tornado(‘)s boxing career may just be deep kimshee. Holla!
1) Brownsugar: Good nite of boxing, my son burned a cd, I’m gonna watch it again in a few…….the Nelly intro had me up dancing and clowning around. But I couldn’t help thinking, what does it take to be a Dallas Cheerleade these days? Must be one of the most demanding occupations a woman can enlist in. And what was up with Margarito adding sugar (or WHATEVER it was) to his coffee on camera? While sporting a record setting goatee? Everything he was doing seemed to violate some form of etiquette or protocol. Pac reminded me of a dragonfly carrying 2tiny ballpeen hammers the way he worked on Margarito’s face last night. Just in and out…in an out all night long….that must take a phenomenal amount of stamina to fight that way. I wanted to see Manny drop him, the way Mayweather dropped a much bigger Corrales, or leave him sitting on the bottom rope, a quivering puddle of humanity, like Mosley did. But Manny did issue a sound lopsided beating to a fighter whose best attribute is his chin. How Margarito withstood that,…I’ll never know. Pac should stay away from the real junior middle weights, as talented as he is, a real 54 pounded like Martinez or Dzinzurik would be too much…and why should he? Pac has proven that he’s the big dog a t147 (which is an accomplishment in itself) unless Floyd comes back…and even then Floyd’s age and chronic inactivity doesn’t guarantee him a win against one of boxings most popular pugilist.
