It rained fists in Morales-Pacquiao 2 aka “The Battle” that there would be no justice if both protagonists had not looked like they did after 10 hard-fought rounds of a scheduled mightily-hyped rematch that exceeded expectations.
A normally handsome Erik Morales had a cut on his forehead, bumps on his face, most prominently on his hook nose and a normally less-than handsome Manny Pacquiao had a big bruise on his right cheekbone and cuts all over. But when the fight was over, Pacquiao was the most good-looking bloke at the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas to his thousands of fans there to see him live and the millions glued to the boob tube all over the globe.
In a performance worthy of matinee-idol adulation, Pacquiao came into the fight more than simply prepared for battle. He came with a lot of surprises that jolted and led to a stunning knockout victory over Morales – marking the first time the legendary Mexican warrior was kayoed.
As he rightfully claimed post-fight, Pacquiao was well trained, fit and had added to his arsenal – most notably a right hand now capable of hooking to the head and body.
Some things had not changed though. Morales was still the more elegant fighter, always poised and balanced, choosing his shots well and landing with scary accuracy and apparent power. Every punch that landed on Pacquiao, which lesser fighters would have immediately succumbed to, terrified the Filipino pug’s fans. The damage Morales did on Pacquiao was obviously extensive but Pacquiao is made of stronger stuff.
Pacquiao took everything Morales gave and gave back more in return, thus the TKO win in 2:33 of the 10th round.
As early as the second round, there were signs the results won’t be the same as 10 months ago when Morales clearly outfought Pacquiao to earn a unanimous-decision win. Pacquiao tagged Morales, who would have fallen if his right hand had not held on to the ropes as he staggered back. In the sixth, Pacquiao again punished Morales who was lucky to have bumped referee Kenny Bayless behind him, preventing him from falling.
As the judges’ scorecards indicate (87-84 on Paul Smith and Jerry Roth’s; 86-85 on Dave Moretti’s), it was a close fight. The main reasons Pacquiao won were his superior conditioning and fine-tuned strategy. Pacquiao had always come to a fight fit and raring to kick ass. But Freddie Roach has given Pacman’s game a whole new dimension. Roach sees and he thinks. He then applies what he believes his fighter needs and make it all work.
Roach has taught Pacquiao defense and added sting and efficiency to his attack. Against Morales, Roach instructed Pacquiao to go to the body and the Pinoy surprised Morales with a right hand that not only jabbed, it hooked up and middle.
Morales, his Aztec-Hispanic looks bordering on a sacrificial victim’s death mask, was ripe for the taking in the 10th round. Exacerbated by a dieting hell that distressed him in his more recent fights as he struggled to make the weight limit, Morales was running on near empty in the later rounds.
He was knocked down twice before Bayless judiciously stopped the fight.
MISSING THE POINT. A few have emailed me mocking my choice of Morales winning over Pacquiao. It was a guess. I was wrong. So what? I’m in the column-writing business, not prophesy.
Based on the tone of the letters, they probably think I am disappointed Morales lost. They are wrong. I rejoiced with millions of Filipinos over Pacquaio’s win. I simply thought Morales would win again on the basis of his previous win and considering what both fighters have.
That is why it is called an opinion page because opinions are expressed on that page. Now, do you see the dangers of expressing an opinion? Most people see in black and white and draw the line between us and them. Shortsightedness will never be a virtue.
HALF A MILLENNIUM. Hacking away a twice-weekly column is one of the most labor extensive and satisfying chores I’ve ever done at length. Like athletes who are not in top form on certain days but muster enough to perform, column-writing can sometimes make a writer say: “To heck with this! I’ll do it some time else.” Or in piques of arrogance:
“Damn the deadline! They have space to fill.”
That is the columnist’s weekly, monthly (or whatever) duty. He or she must bring it on. Read everything and rack the brain for inspiration if none seems forthcoming.
It seems hard to believe this is the 501st column I have written under the Free-For-All label. I don’t mind doing 501 more even if the price to be paid is getting tactless and stupid e-mail.
