Fight night! The scene is always one of great fun. Friends of friends and so forth. All huddled around the TV and the living room became the place to be. During much of the 80′s and 90′s, this basically described many a Saturday night in America and worldwide. Even those who weren?t really fight fans knew there would likely be finger foods and beer. More to the point, a household name secured a hit of an evening. Leonard, Hearns, Hagler, Duran, Tyson and De la Hoya to name a few. The latter two seemed to be the biggest once Pay-per-View was an option in one?s own home.
I remember so very clearly going over to a friend?s house back in 2001 to watch an Oscar fight on TV. Much like the live fights at the MGM and elsewhere, most of the night?s guests didn?t arrive until close to the main event. I?ve never been that way. I like to see it all for better or sometimes worse. So, there wasn?t a tremendous amount of chatter or smoke in the air during the undercard, when the announcer stated there had been a late replacement to fill-in for a championship bout. I remember calling my soon-to-be wife and telling her about this skinny, tornado-like little guy with blonde streaks in his hair and how he mauled the titleholder. I wrote down his name and soon after, I jumped at the chance to see him fight live when he came to San Antonio in 2003.
My deep admiration for Manny Pacquiao has grown immensely over the last decade. I sometimes felt like a steak-knife salesman when I tried to tell anyone who would listen that they just had to come over to my house (or join me on a Vegas outing) and see a prize fighter who I was certain would become a phenomenon. I could rarely get the same people to show up or listen up for more than one fight. Oh yes, but that was then. Now, the Filipino sensation could easily be entered into the vernacular of even the most casual sports fan.
I?ve been fortunate enough to see Manny fight live in Las Vegas and a few spots in Texas. I was content to watch last Saturday?s fight versus Shane Mosley on TV. I wasn?t necessarily thrilled about shelling out the price for PPV, plus the upcharge for HD. Along similar lines, I attended his previous two fights at the JerryDome (or Cowboys Stadium) and expected an easy Pacquiao victory, just as long as I kept telling myself the same thing over & over, ?Maybe a mismatch, but I?m witnessing a legend and he won?t be fighting much longer?. I kept telling myself that his legacy is being able to tell my children, ?kids, if you could have seen Manny Pacquiao fight?.
In a strange way, I feel like I?m guilty of treason. Manny has still yet to make his ?Dark Side of the Moon? fight that will always hang high in the memory of the sports world. I may be off, but I don?t think Walker Smith (aka Sugar Ray Robinson) or Henry Armstrong were surrounded by quite as many people who treated them as product first and fighter a distant second. At the very least, perhaps that was a time when the squabbles between promoting sides didn?t prevent a fight for the ages from happening quite so often. That?s a long time ago, though. I?m one who doesn?t (and painfully doesn?t) think that Manny has seen his finest hour, at least not as the crossover sensation he?s become. Of course, a few hundred million may disagree with me. His most recent trip to the ring was touted as his coming-out party to the uninformed ?big fights only? crowd of America. What did we get?
Everyone ? yes. Manny Pacquiao does and always will need to topple Floyd Mayweather in order to really and truly be the new Lapu-Lapu (the Philippines greatest national hero) who triumphs all. His next scheduled fight is reportedly set with Juan Manuel Marquez. I?ve nothing against ?Dinamita?. Hey, I love the guy. But two out of three still is no Holy Grail. I personally think he?ll make quick work of Marquez this time as long as his head is in the right place. So much time has progressed since they last met in 2008. Manny is oceans apart from Marquez in more than one sense of the phrase.
Promoters, lawyers and various other hangers-on need to pretend that they?re fight fans for just a few moments, or at least until the ink dries. The loud boos of the crowd last Saturday night attested to that. It wasn?t Pacquiao?s fault that Mosley shelled up?..again. We all knew it was a high probability. I?ve written this from a fan?s perspective. I don?t want to lose the new ilk who?ve heard of the PacMan over the fact that despite all the hype and promotions, the bout was sleep inducing. His fight last week was promoted on network television. It?s a difficult sell when the promos run during a fishing or golf show. Top it off by the fact it?s on pay-per-view. Next time, let?s hope he fights someone who will?.well, fight back. Isn?t that why we watch?
