Jack Jakosalem, Cebu City Councilor: ?The fight will no doubt be great, but Manny will put him out at 8!
?If it reaches 9, Morales won?t look so fine… ?Hey, it?s Round 10, it should have been over by then!
?Oh no, it?s now reached Round 11, panicking are those who bet it would be over by 7…
?The bell rings for Round 12. The crowd?s getting frantic, even those watching across the Atlantic. Manny swings with a left, then hits hard with a right, just look at how Manny carries the fight!
?Then suddenly, BOOM! Silence fills the room… Morales is missing. The crowd looks up, is that him up in the sky? Yes it is, so the crowd shouts GOOD-BYE!?
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Bobby Aboitiz, Chairman of the Board, Aboitiz Equity Ventures: ?Saw Manny?s fight in Manila and wow, he is certainly a role model. The qualities I see in Manny? He strives hard, patiently gets the job done, he?s tenacious, has ?lakas ng loob.? He decides he wants victory, he risks, he knows his best can win. He really believes this to be true. ?Yes, the Filipino can!? he says.
Now, we should follow Manny… work-hard, prepare, trust in our ability, and want it bad.
?Sunday will be Pacquiao Day. I think it will go the distance. Morales will try and needs to end it early. Manny?s stamina and hard punches will weaken Morales… Manny represents our need to triumph. And we pray he wins. ?Results follow where effort is applied? applies here. Manny shows us that we can become world-class winners by the power of the will to win!?
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Ray Patuasi, former District Governor, Rotary International: ?It?s difficult to predict the round in which Manny will knock out Morales. The fact is Morales also trained hard for this fight and, being an astute fighter, he too may be working on knocking out Manny. Morales has learned Manny?s style and so has Manny on Morales. I am excited to see how both fighters will fight considering that each camp is aware of each others? style, strengths and weaknesses. It is likely that they will vary their tactics to confuse the opponent.
?Win or lose, Manny is a great athlete. He has charmed the Filipinos and made them proud of being one with him. In my lifetime, never have I seen a fight where the nation drops all their routine just to get glued into their TV sets. Churches are almost empty on Sunday masses and some priests even shorten their homilies just to catch the bout on TV. For a few who care not of the fight and goes out, they find the streets devoid of the usual traffic jams.
Manny has become an icon for young boxers and elevated the sport to a higher level of respect especially on the financial aspect. Yes, Manny has changed people?s perspective of the sport. And for this, I doff my hat to the guy.?
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Nimrod Quinones, Managing Editor, The Freeman: ?If there would be a KO, it will be in the late rounds. I would not, however, say that Pacquiao will be the one to knock Morales out although I?m hoping for that to happen. Pacquiao will be among the greatest RP boxers but to call him the greatest would not do justice to the achievements of Flash Elorde and Pancho Villa. Manny’s probably the greatest for our generation. The greatest sportsman the country has produced? I would not also say so, but no doubt he is the one who made most money from sports.?
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Jourdan Polotan, businessman: ?Manny will KO Morales within 6 rounds. He has the talent, the heart. Many people can box but few have the discipline to train as hard and use their head to get to the top. It takes a lot of discipline to stay where he is.
And that is the only way Manny will remain at the top of his game. Win or lose, Manny will be one of the greatest sportsmen in RP history. I am sure that by his example there will be other Filipinos who will achieve greater things because of his inspiration.?
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Tony Aldeguer, Cebu?s top boxing manager. ?No predictions! But this is what I heard when I spoke with coach Edito Villamor:
?Pacquiao is really in top condition.? He?s in his best condition ever. The other problem with Morales is his weight. How will this scientific approach to losing weight (called ?velocity?) affect his fight? Morales has to go all-out. To have a chance, he has to fight a ?tactical fight? like Marquez did against Pacquiao.
Morales has more technical skills but Manny has the speed and power.
?Is Manny the greatest RP boxer in history? He is. Even if he loses tomorrow. Flash Elorde was my idol but he never beat an icon, unlike Pacquiao. Also, the level of competition today is unbelievable. All sports improve through the generations. Look at tennis. Years back, during the time of Felicisimo Ampon, he was amazing. But that era cannot be compared to the era of Andre Agassi. Manny is RP?s best ever.? (To be continued tomorrow…)
