After all is said and done, the fact remains that Bobby Pacquiao has won another one and is getting closer to his objective of trying to step away from his illustrious brother’s shadow. I don’t know that he will be able to do that with much success in the near future, but he can certainly try.
The fight he won may have been tailor-made for him but it did not look that way for the many months that he sat around waiting for an opponent. Before last Sunday’s match against Kevin Kelley, Pacquiao cooled his heels for 8 months. Not that he didn’t want to fight, but they couldn’t get one. To his credit however, he showed a lot of patience and class against the former world champion.
When Bobby started out, Manny Pacquiao was already making waves as a flyweight in local and Asian boxing circles. Bobby started off rather lackadaisically, seemingly in the boxing business for lack of anything else to do.
It was pretty obvious that he just wanted to follow Manny’s footsteps and went about with no real focus. We saw him in action in some of his earlier fights and we thought he had the skills to get ahead in the business. However, we started to hear that he sometimes would fight half-heartedly and did not have the same fire and fervor displayed by his more famous brother.
With Manny’s success however, may have come the realization of what could be in store for a fighter who had talent and was serious in his quest for the fame and glory that came with a successful run.
We started to hear about Bobby Pacquiao again. And his being brother to Manny opened several doors as many boxing promoters and managers wanted to see if there were more from where Manny came from, and especially from the same family bloodline (with apologies to our cock-fighting amigos).
By the time Manny was spreading the Pacquiao name all over the boxing world, Bobby was doggedly trying to get his career back together again. From the time Manny shocked the world with his win over Mexican icon Marco Antonio Barrera in November 2003 until last Sundays KO win, Bobby put together an impressive string of 6 victories against only one defeat and a draw. Previous to this, from 1999, he was doing 12 wins and 7 losses in a campaign that didn’t seem to be going anywhere.
The Bobby Pacquiao that we have seen the past few fights, especially in the one against Ruben Navarro last year, is definitely more focused and better disciplined. This year, he went early to the States to prepare for a fight. I talked to him before he left and he was already getting antsy and was raring to get back to training camp. His victory over the 38-year-old Kelley was no surprise but the way Bobby looked and moved, we can’t help feeling elated for the young man.
Off the ring, Bobby is more soft-spoken and self-deprecating than his more vivacious sibling. There were reports last year that he would sometimes accompany Manny to the pool halls in General Santos and was known to wager a bit until some well-meaning friends knocked some sense into him.
We look forward to seeing Bobby as serious and as determined to succeed in his quest for his own space in the limelight. We hope Wakee Salud, his Canadian co-manager Michael Koncz and trainer Freddie Roach would be able to guide the young man and get him more competitive matches in the near future.
While it is true that there might be a few problems later on because he and Manny are fighting in the same weight class, I’m sure some clever maneuverings can see to it that they don’t become major obstacles.
Here’s to another world-class Pacquiao and many more from our array of local boxers!
