‘THE WILL TO WIN’
(Part 2)
(Part 2)
PACMAN-BARRERA II is over!
The hype, rumors and the early fireworks must have now been to the drain…
And as many predicted - a second win it was for Pacquiao!
On his way to full retirement, the Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera announced to park for good the ‘beautiful sport of boxing’ – the sport that had built him a fortune in proportions not consumable in his entire lifetime.
For Pacman’s side, all’s well that ends well. Again, it was coronation time to higher greatness and he too will again be ensconced in a mega-buck payday to refuel the sapped coffers following that political misadventure to congress. And if he plays his cards well, he shall have more of these premium paychecks in the near future.
To the boxing fans, it was not what they wanted to see… Short of action, there was no eruption into an “all-out war”! Many were surprised that Barrera made it to the distance. And many were questioning why Pacquiao was not able to dispose of Barrera early…
MY CRYSTAL BALL
The first part of the article ‘THE WILL TO WIN’ saw both the accuracies and lapses in my crystal ball…
The rematch did not turn out to be a brawl as I pre-certified. Its product showed both combatants playing cautious tactical games en-route to an ashen finish.
It did not manifest the much-ballyhooed blood & guts imprimatured in their brutal one-sided first encounter. Except for a round or two sporadic detonations, the battle to many fans, was boring. It did not feature the excitement everybody had been expecting.
The boxing world anticipated that Barrera would once again show the fearless bell-to-bell exchanges as in his trilogy with Morales and the schooling he made to the eely Prince Hamed. What we saw was Marco’s reluctance to exchange charges - evocative of the second Barrera-Rocky Juarez fight.
REPLICATING HISTORY
Pacman’s victory, once again in an onerous mode had replicated history but in a different tune. Four years ago in San Antonio, Texas, the Pacman dismantled Barrera in a spectacular fashion. This time, the boxing public asked for more blood and tension.
But then, the Pacman was not able to ‘devour the viscerals out of the Mexican’. Nobody ‘kissed the canvas for good’ even for a few moments.
The absence of wicked passions, the anemic drama and the insufficient action; all these negated the color & luster of the much-awaited rematch as the touted ‘classic bout’ reducing itself into the pages of pallid history.
And nobody ever noticed the ‘Marco Bolo’… Perhaps, the sharpening had not been good enough…
THE WILL TO WIN?
Contrary to publicity, Marco Antonio Barrera showed no will to win. He contented himself in boxing and countering, not being aggressive enough as he should be, if he willed to win.
Probably because of his high esteem to the Pacman - he had already tasted the acidic fire in their first encounter. Or Barrera to his mind might have only coasted to perform his farewell assignment in the comfort zone.
He was cautious not to be knocked out. To survive the distance, Barrera did not engage into a head-on collision with his tormentor. He must remain standing to the last bell. He must be gracious in his exit…
That appeared to be the strategy. Amidst the total secrecy of his training camp, he promised to shock the boxing fans. And the world was indeed shocked, when he elected not to fight toe-to-toe as he had famously done before. In this fight, the fabled Mexican pride in Barrera was not even noticeable… Why?
In fact, Barrera willed not to win. He willed to survive…!
Barrera reported for duty fresh, fit and ready - 130 pounds at weigh-in and 138 pounds at fight night as compared to Pacquiao’s skeletal apparition-like 130 lbs during the weigh-in. Marco obviously was not the under-trained, under-prepared and the over-confident Barrera four years ago at the Alamodome…
Although the aged Barrera is retireable, he showed that he was not yet ‘washed-up & weary’. The veteran this time showed that he was hard to hit and Pacman had to work hard for his points.
But Barrera must have realized that the foe he was facing in Las Vegas was not the same uni-directional clumsy charging bull he fought in 2003, but a good tactician as well. As many must have noticed, Pacquiao most of the 12 rounds fought Barrera’s brand of the so-called ‘sweet science’. And Manny Pacquiao did it well.
THE SWEET SCIENCE
Of course, Marco worked on his homework, anticipating Pacman’s one-dimensional attacks. But Pacquaio to his trademark had metamorphosed into a well-rounded power-boxer with much improved lateral footwork and ring savvy. Confused, Barrera could not do anything else. Admittedly frustrated he lost his cool in a number of rounds.
Manny’s defense in terms of unrelenting offense & effective aggression was too much, too strong and too fast for Barrera’s predicament. As I said in the first article, it takes a Superman to sustain the stamina needed for the Pacman’s style.
And Manny proved that he could be as technical as Barrera himself! As Barrera admitted, “Manny had a good defense”.
The technical side of the episode showed that Pacquiao did not give Barrera windows of opportunity to counter-punch effectively; but at the same time, Manny failed to make the most of his multiple combinations to hit Barrera at will. But as the fight went on, it became visible that Barrera although successful in luring Pacquiao to his range, failed to unleash, except for a few instances, any outstanding counter-attacks.
And as the rounds unfolded, Marco Antonio Barrera, the pride of Mexico, may have avoided Manny Pacquiao’s best power shots but not the outcome. Barrera must have recognized by then that Murphy’s Law was not in his side.
THE BEST PART OF THE BOUT
Round 11, the best canto in the fight…
With traces of great battles, at last the two protagonists traded heavily in the eleventh. Then Pacquiao landed a right hand to the mid-section followed by a big left to the face, in the process opening a nasty cavernous cut under Barrera’s right eye while sending Marco to the verge of a knockdown.
The fans roared and stood up… including us and the millions watching on TV.
With Manny delivering another right uppercut and a straight left, oh my God, Barrera’s submission became more imminent. This was the moment of truth…! The flash we had been all waiting for!
But then the two scrambled and referee Tony Weeks stepped in to break…
Then came Barrera’s best shot! As the referee administered the break, a frustrated Barrera appallingly landed a huge overhand right to the side of Manny’s face - hurting Pacquiao.
As the boxing world watched in awe, what was Barrera’s best shot of the night turned out to be illegal, prompting a point deduction by the referee.
How could Barrera do that! Barrera’s woes only worsened at this time… and the world bore witness to it! Barrera’s camp knew he had to lose…!
THE WINNING
In the end, Pacman’s win was conclusive, though less imposing than the explosive performances that the boxing world have grown to look forward to.
Accounting a one-sided affair, the judges’ cards showed 118-109, 118-109, and 115-112 all in favor of Pacquiao.
CompuBox reported that Pacquiao’s work rate outlanded Barrera, 249-111 in power punches. Pacquiao connected 37 percent of his bombs, while Barrera landed just 21 percent.
In my book, if the rounds were hard to decide, I gave them generously to Barrera. In the end, I gave only two rounds for the Baby Faced Assassin.
But Barerra, performed splendidly! As a Law student he must have been familiar in acquittal, as Marco smartly eked out himself from the horrors of their first encounter! In the first fight, his corner threw in the towel, this time Barrera hung on standing upright until the end of the final round. That was big victory, in his own terms…!
And Marco was correct; he is going to be a lawyer – a master of the art of acquittal.
THE SCARY MOMENTS
The sudden change of heart from LA to Cebu training camp posed some questioning eyebrows on Manny’s indifference. It can be recalled that the extravaganza in the Cebu Camp raised doubts in Pacquiao’s focus on Barrera and had since been yielding contradicting reports.
When Manny was set to sail for the USA, it was reported that he had no problem with his weight. The training strategy was perfect! But on the eve of the fight there was that mysterious excess poundage of the boxing hero. Truth to tell, although with hardened muscles, Pacquiao checked in like a ghost in skeletal form - reminiscent of a similar trouble in Thailand when he was stripped of his WBC flyweight crown and was knocked out the following day.
Yes, you and I were scared… I knew!
Manny was reportedly 144 lbs during fight night, against Barrera’s 138. As experts say, it takes two days to recover from this situation…, could Manny pull through after that sheer dehydration and famish determination?
That’s water under the bridge now. Manny won in a conclusive way, anyway. No doubt about it. But the scary moments lingered. What if Manny faced Juan Manuel Marquez in the same night?
Freddie Roach admittedly said that “Manny was 80% in the Barrera fight”. Understandably my friends, Barrera as I said was retireable and with Manny as the opponent, he could never turn the tide up to his favor. To me, even if Manny was only 60%, he could still be victorious with Barrera!
Again, the question is, “what if Manny faced Juan Manuel Marquez in the same night”?
THE AFTERMATH
The aftermath of the bout saw the re-emergence of the Mexican pride…
When asked what the difference was between this fight from that of 2003, Barrera replied: “The difference was that in the first one, I felt all his punches. Tonight, I did not feel them. But he is still very big, very strong.”
Hahaha, tell that to the marines!
Barrera must have been sitting on his laurels after he survived the Pacman’s onslaughts. It was a victory in his own right; and indeed it was!
But, after all the factors considered; clearly, it was Manny Pacquiao, the Filipino, who had all the will to win…! Whether you like it or not, it was destiny, so to speak…
See you then in Pacman – Marquez II.
The hype, rumors and the early fireworks must have now been to the drain…
And as many predicted - a second win it was for Pacquiao!
On his way to full retirement, the Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera announced to park for good the ‘beautiful sport of boxing’ – the sport that had built him a fortune in proportions not consumable in his entire lifetime.
For Pacman’s side, all’s well that ends well. Again, it was coronation time to higher greatness and he too will again be ensconced in a mega-buck payday to refuel the sapped coffers following that political misadventure to congress. And if he plays his cards well, he shall have more of these premium paychecks in the near future.
To the boxing fans, it was not what they wanted to see… Short of action, there was no eruption into an “all-out war”! Many were surprised that Barrera made it to the distance. And many were questioning why Pacquiao was not able to dispose of Barrera early…
MY CRYSTAL BALL
The first part of the article ‘THE WILL TO WIN’ saw both the accuracies and lapses in my crystal ball…
The rematch did not turn out to be a brawl as I pre-certified. Its product showed both combatants playing cautious tactical games en-route to an ashen finish.
It did not manifest the much-ballyhooed blood & guts imprimatured in their brutal one-sided first encounter. Except for a round or two sporadic detonations, the battle to many fans, was boring. It did not feature the excitement everybody had been expecting.
The boxing world anticipated that Barrera would once again show the fearless bell-to-bell exchanges as in his trilogy with Morales and the schooling he made to the eely Prince Hamed. What we saw was Marco’s reluctance to exchange charges - evocative of the second Barrera-Rocky Juarez fight.
REPLICATING HISTORY
Pacman’s victory, once again in an onerous mode had replicated history but in a different tune. Four years ago in San Antonio, Texas, the Pacman dismantled Barrera in a spectacular fashion. This time, the boxing public asked for more blood and tension.
But then, the Pacman was not able to ‘devour the viscerals out of the Mexican’. Nobody ‘kissed the canvas for good’ even for a few moments.
The absence of wicked passions, the anemic drama and the insufficient action; all these negated the color & luster of the much-awaited rematch as the touted ‘classic bout’ reducing itself into the pages of pallid history.
And nobody ever noticed the ‘Marco Bolo’… Perhaps, the sharpening had not been good enough…
THE WILL TO WIN?
Contrary to publicity, Marco Antonio Barrera showed no will to win. He contented himself in boxing and countering, not being aggressive enough as he should be, if he willed to win.
Probably because of his high esteem to the Pacman - he had already tasted the acidic fire in their first encounter. Or Barrera to his mind might have only coasted to perform his farewell assignment in the comfort zone.
He was cautious not to be knocked out. To survive the distance, Barrera did not engage into a head-on collision with his tormentor. He must remain standing to the last bell. He must be gracious in his exit…
That appeared to be the strategy. Amidst the total secrecy of his training camp, he promised to shock the boxing fans. And the world was indeed shocked, when he elected not to fight toe-to-toe as he had famously done before. In this fight, the fabled Mexican pride in Barrera was not even noticeable… Why?
In fact, Barrera willed not to win. He willed to survive…!
Barrera reported for duty fresh, fit and ready - 130 pounds at weigh-in and 138 pounds at fight night as compared to Pacquiao’s skeletal apparition-like 130 lbs during the weigh-in. Marco obviously was not the under-trained, under-prepared and the over-confident Barrera four years ago at the Alamodome…
Although the aged Barrera is retireable, he showed that he was not yet ‘washed-up & weary’. The veteran this time showed that he was hard to hit and Pacman had to work hard for his points.
But Barrera must have realized that the foe he was facing in Las Vegas was not the same uni-directional clumsy charging bull he fought in 2003, but a good tactician as well. As many must have noticed, Pacquiao most of the 12 rounds fought Barrera’s brand of the so-called ‘sweet science’. And Manny Pacquiao did it well.
THE SWEET SCIENCE
Of course, Marco worked on his homework, anticipating Pacman’s one-dimensional attacks. But Pacquaio to his trademark had metamorphosed into a well-rounded power-boxer with much improved lateral footwork and ring savvy. Confused, Barrera could not do anything else. Admittedly frustrated he lost his cool in a number of rounds.
Manny’s defense in terms of unrelenting offense & effective aggression was too much, too strong and too fast for Barrera’s predicament. As I said in the first article, it takes a Superman to sustain the stamina needed for the Pacman’s style.
And Manny proved that he could be as technical as Barrera himself! As Barrera admitted, “Manny had a good defense”.
The technical side of the episode showed that Pacquiao did not give Barrera windows of opportunity to counter-punch effectively; but at the same time, Manny failed to make the most of his multiple combinations to hit Barrera at will. But as the fight went on, it became visible that Barrera although successful in luring Pacquiao to his range, failed to unleash, except for a few instances, any outstanding counter-attacks.
And as the rounds unfolded, Marco Antonio Barrera, the pride of Mexico, may have avoided Manny Pacquiao’s best power shots but not the outcome. Barrera must have recognized by then that Murphy’s Law was not in his side.
THE BEST PART OF THE BOUT
Round 11, the best canto in the fight…
With traces of great battles, at last the two protagonists traded heavily in the eleventh. Then Pacquiao landed a right hand to the mid-section followed by a big left to the face, in the process opening a nasty cavernous cut under Barrera’s right eye while sending Marco to the verge of a knockdown.
The fans roared and stood up… including us and the millions watching on TV.
With Manny delivering another right uppercut and a straight left, oh my God, Barrera’s submission became more imminent. This was the moment of truth…! The flash we had been all waiting for!
But then the two scrambled and referee Tony Weeks stepped in to break…
Then came Barrera’s best shot! As the referee administered the break, a frustrated Barrera appallingly landed a huge overhand right to the side of Manny’s face - hurting Pacquiao.
As the boxing world watched in awe, what was Barrera’s best shot of the night turned out to be illegal, prompting a point deduction by the referee.
How could Barrera do that! Barrera’s woes only worsened at this time… and the world bore witness to it! Barrera’s camp knew he had to lose…!
THE WINNING
In the end, Pacman’s win was conclusive, though less imposing than the explosive performances that the boxing world have grown to look forward to.
Accounting a one-sided affair, the judges’ cards showed 118-109, 118-109, and 115-112 all in favor of Pacquiao.
CompuBox reported that Pacquiao’s work rate outlanded Barrera, 249-111 in power punches. Pacquiao connected 37 percent of his bombs, while Barrera landed just 21 percent.
In my book, if the rounds were hard to decide, I gave them generously to Barrera. In the end, I gave only two rounds for the Baby Faced Assassin.
But Barerra, performed splendidly! As a Law student he must have been familiar in acquittal, as Marco smartly eked out himself from the horrors of their first encounter! In the first fight, his corner threw in the towel, this time Barrera hung on standing upright until the end of the final round. That was big victory, in his own terms…!
And Marco was correct; he is going to be a lawyer – a master of the art of acquittal.
THE SCARY MOMENTS
The sudden change of heart from LA to Cebu training camp posed some questioning eyebrows on Manny’s indifference. It can be recalled that the extravaganza in the Cebu Camp raised doubts in Pacquiao’s focus on Barrera and had since been yielding contradicting reports.
When Manny was set to sail for the USA, it was reported that he had no problem with his weight. The training strategy was perfect! But on the eve of the fight there was that mysterious excess poundage of the boxing hero. Truth to tell, although with hardened muscles, Pacquiao checked in like a ghost in skeletal form - reminiscent of a similar trouble in Thailand when he was stripped of his WBC flyweight crown and was knocked out the following day.
Yes, you and I were scared… I knew!
Manny was reportedly 144 lbs during fight night, against Barrera’s 138. As experts say, it takes two days to recover from this situation…, could Manny pull through after that sheer dehydration and famish determination?
That’s water under the bridge now. Manny won in a conclusive way, anyway. No doubt about it. But the scary moments lingered. What if Manny faced Juan Manuel Marquez in the same night?
Freddie Roach admittedly said that “Manny was 80% in the Barrera fight”. Understandably my friends, Barrera as I said was retireable and with Manny as the opponent, he could never turn the tide up to his favor. To me, even if Manny was only 60%, he could still be victorious with Barrera!
Again, the question is, “what if Manny faced Juan Manuel Marquez in the same night”?
THE AFTERMATH
The aftermath of the bout saw the re-emergence of the Mexican pride…
When asked what the difference was between this fight from that of 2003, Barrera replied: “The difference was that in the first one, I felt all his punches. Tonight, I did not feel them. But he is still very big, very strong.”
Hahaha, tell that to the marines!
Barrera must have been sitting on his laurels after he survived the Pacman’s onslaughts. It was a victory in his own right; and indeed it was!
But, after all the factors considered; clearly, it was Manny Pacquiao, the Filipino, who had all the will to win…! Whether you like it or not, it was destiny, so to speak…
See you then in Pacman – Marquez II.
DOODS A. AMORA, PEE
October 8, 2007
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