THE TRUTH OF THE MOMENT

THE TRUTH OF THE MOMENT
By Domineko du Surigao


“Nemo me impune lacesit” – from A Cask of Amontillado
By Edgar Allan Poe

THE DRAMA in that late morning of May 3 was akin to the principle of ambuscade executed in blinding rapidity as in that stealthy frontal interception that jarred and rattled the senses. The purpose of which is to inflect not only injury but mental anguish, dread and amazement to the recipient while evading at bay in anticipation for a fight another day.

Such was the climactic performance of the Pacman’s patented tactics of speed, precision and his capricious but fluid cadences in the square arena. A subtle resemblance of East Asia’s temperament during the 60’s: EXPLOSIVE and RESTLESS!

That, being contrasted on the other hand, with the somnambulant oscillations of the Hitman upon stumbling into dreamland – a replica of Western Europe after World War II: RUINED and DEVASTATED!

East met West.

Each in their sinister but mesmeric lethal dance of bloodlust for the win; exchanging blows like the clashing of minute swords of grass in the wind-blown verdant green, each fully clad and gleaming with the crimson dew of covetousness – leaping for the sky, reaching and both wanting for the sun…..

After the raucous din, only one man remained standing for the accolade. It was over. Brief. Clearcut. Neat. Swift as lightning.

Thus, was punctuated Europe’s best P4P fighter in that electrocuting flash of a pugilist’s dream: entering with as bang, departing in deafening silence.


THE UNSEEN WHYs and WHEREFOREs

After the Hitman had awakened from that sweet slumber initiated by that famous left hook, he allegedly said: ‘All right Coach, let’s get on with it! Let’s go for a jog before I floor that Pacman in the ring.’ The Coach answered: ‘What jog, the game is over’! Harharhar!

The simulated conversation is reflective of the human tendency to fall into that familiar trap labeled as the abnormal loss of memory. Amnesia. Forgetfulness. Oversight of the little things that when magnified should have considerably swayed the outcome of a projected goal.

Fatally overlooked by the Hitman was the wisdom of KNOWING. “It is in the knowing that we find resilience to cope with the demands of what we seek.” To vanquish one’s adversary, the doctrine of Ninjutsu stated among others: “Know your enemy. Become his friend and the other phases of his defeat will come in handy and in succession.”

Also forgotten for scrutiny was the psyche of the Pacman.

At an early age, the Pacman learned the rudiments of boxing in his frequent brawl while peddling his Pan de Sal, Newspaper and or shoe-shinning in the streets and alleyways of GenSan. This knowledge, if only pursued, would have given a hint of deducing that the Pacman was already a STREET FIGHTER prior to his involvement in the punching scene.

And the Hitman challenged this guy to a fracas of fists inside the ring! Who can deny him the privilege? It was like dispatching the proverbial turtle into the river! So, the ember flamed. And the splinters flew thereafter.

Another yarn has it that when a reporter asked why the fight was lost so quickly, the Hitman retorted: ‘Oh, Boy, how can you ever expect to win against a dude with eight fists?’ Harharhar!

Speed. Discipline. Concentration. Wisdom. Truthfulness in war or combat. These are the attributes of a good warrior. He must know how to incite fear, hate, anger, confusion and fright into the soul of the enemy. These are aspects of one attitude: INSECURITY. Feed this to the enemy in great dozes.

Failing to do this, one cannot win. One merely survives.

No matter how much the Hitman denies it, there was fear in his eyes upon climbing the stair to the ring. That was proven later when he bulldozed his way to test the water with a dubious thrust to the Pacman’’s side. There was also fear when he succumbed to the floor the first time while the second fall contrived revenge as reflected in the shock on his face. His body language confirmed all these and was magnified on the life-sized screen.

As long as there is fear, there will be defeat. This is a posture that invites revenge. And if one begins to think only of revenge, one’s body will be made weak by that obsession. One will cease to have options open until all strategy disappears, leaving only one thing: the thought of revenge.

The cause of the first knockdown, according to Doods, was reminiscent of Jeet Kune Do. Precisely right. He also chimed it was a shot from Nimo Naranai Do. Not wrong either. One or the other, they have that common mode of execution: Astounding SPEED.

Speed kills. Or maim. Hence the sealed fate of the Hitman in five minutes & fifty seconds. Whether it was JKD or NND that made it, was not the issue that hanged at bar.

It was Pacman’s fist that brought the house down along memory lane.

Dismissed, too, as irrelevant was the concentrating power of the Pacman. Unknown, perhaps, to the Hitman’s party, concentration plays an important role in any form of combat. This was one of Pacman’s aces: “To meet the enemy with the mind settled on that spot where one’s offence must constantly hammer the adversary into oblivion.”

On the contrary, the Hitman’s intentions were clearly telegraphed by his body and eye movements prompting the other party to anticipate in the form of mind-reading and intercept the blows prior to being consummated. Thus, the Jeet Kune Do slash in the first salvo.

And that was the CHIN of the matter. The LOWER JAW in another.

Alien to the Western mind is the almost fanatical preoccupation of the Pacman to indulge in moments of SILENCE in his Mass Offering a day before the fight and again kneeling in STILLNESS on his corner prior to the action. Why is this?

Kenjutsu affirms: “Combat is a very deep SILENCE attacked. Just as man can create silence, so does the human psyche: thought. Without silence, thought is impossible. Without thought, strategy cannot be formulated. Unless one actively seeks out the SILENCE in the midst of combat he cannot attain victory. He can only be there as witness to his own defeat.”

These intangibles, basically regarded as negligible, became in fact the fatalistic factors pushing the Hitman into his own pit. Were you to agree or not, that is the infallible palindromic message etched on the mirror on the wall.


BODY LANGUAGE

While the Pacman almost always wear that enigmatic grin before his fights, the body speaks a tune rather contrary whenever blows are inflicted unto him. Albeit the Pacman knowing this or not, is clearly manifested everytime he retaliates to the opponent.

The language being Latin and written as the lead of this article, it is herein translated into English meaning thus:

“No one attacks me with impunity.”

That, is the tenet of the warrior under stress. That, also is the truth of the moment. More or less.


Domineko du Surigao
May 10, 2009

SHOCK, AWE & HORROR - THE FINAL CHAPTER

SHOCK, AWE & HORROR:
THE FINAL CHAPTER

by Doods A. Amora, PEE

From the edges of the earth to the center of the ring, the East collided with the West and three explosions shook the world..!

Two volcanic eruptions in the first; followed by the exclamatory climax in the second round.

Three knockdowns: SHOCK, AWE and HORROR - yes, what else could it be?

The first bomb sent shockwaves. The second delivered a nerve-breaking awe and the last one detonated sheer horror. Shock, Awe & Horror to the 25,000 adoring Hattonites who trooped to Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena and to the millions around the world watching their TV screens. On the other hand, romping in celebration were deafening roars of pandemic approval on the side of the Pacmanites - me and my cohorts included!

The first knock-down came from a right hook. It looked like a counterpunch but it wasn’t. It was a looping right hand from Pacquiao that landed right on the dot just as Hatton went for a left of his own. Reminiscent of Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do, it was more of a shot from Nimo Naranai Do that only the wisdoms of Freddie Roach and Dumineko du Surigao can explicate.

The second knock-down came from Pacman’s patented combinations punctuated by a left straight penultimate finale. As expectators, we had seen it several times in previous Pacman fights. But live at the center of the ring, with so much power, speed and fluidity, there was no way Ricky saw it.


Short, swift and easy. It’s all over in 5 minutes & 59 seconds.


HATTON IN TWO ROUNDS

Yet, the Mancunian pride is a double edged sword. It can drive one to great heights or drive one to the point of near death in the pursuit of victory.

Hatton chose the latter. If this was what death must be like, then so be it. The eyes in his tiger inside were still sharp & piercing – still determined! Ricky hopped into the center of the ring seemingly re-energized as the second round bell rang.

But all of a sudden, Hatton was gone. A final perfect left hook delivered in surgical brutality to the side of the chin sent Hatton seemingly lifted sideward. Unconscious even before hitting the canvas at the closing of the second round, the crystal-eyed and motionless Mancunian Hitman appeared to have dreamt of flashes of morbid hallucinations. And as the bile slowly creeped inside Ricky’s system, the deeper, the more infectious the pain was. Unmoving, eyes open but unseeing, Ricky must have seen himself floating in "Hatton Wonderland".

Indeed, Pacquiao mercilessly ended Hatton’s reign as Ring Magazine’s light welterweight champ. “It was a hard punch,” said Pacquiao. “I didn’t think he would get up.” Truly, Hatton did not get up—yes, for several minutes. Lying in partial life flat on his back, the breathing was painful and hard, his senses out of sync.

Referee Kenny Bayless knew he need not count. He knew it was over way back in the first round. The second round was just bonus.

Before this fight, Hatton came in his prime with a record of 45-1 with 32 KO’s and he had never lost in his 140 pound territory. His only defeat was when he ventured into higher weight division to mix it up with Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather Jr. Of course, he lost through a 10-round TKO to the pound-for-pound great PBF, but then the boxing world was so kind to excuse him, much less, history forgetting of this defeat.

Days before the fight, the match promised of an electrifying war between two most exciting warriors of the modern world. Hatton was perceived to have found his match in the equally aggressive & volume punching Pacquiao - the challenger to his lineal IBO and Ring Magazine belts. On the other hand, Hatton wanted so badly Pacman’s title as the World's No. 1 Pound for Pound fighter. Electrifyingly before the fight, he declared to shock the world.

The world was indeed shocked! But to Pacman’s favour. Then I joined with the sea of all fellow Filipinos in the swelling of the national pride as we were all part ingredient of a nation charmed of Pacquiao’s triumphs again and again!

And it was bitter reality as Hatton Promotions CEO Garret Williams in apparent respect to the Pacman, summed it up, “Ricky is desperately sorry to all his fans. Manny Pacquiao is the best fighter, possibly of all time there’s no shame in losing to somebody like that.”


SURPRISE

In the shortness of the fight, there’s not much to say in this article. The fight was self-explanatory as it was not complicated. Simply put, Hatton was no match to the tornado from the East.

But I could not have dreamt of a more spectacular outcome, for I for one was surprised how it came so easily. I expected peaks and valleys as the fight would go on, I mean the excitement, the electricity.

In my last article, I was looking at a knock-out in the later rounds. Ricky Hatton, known for his durability and being much fresher than Oscar Dela Hoya, the Hitman needed to be softened up until the late rounds where the knock-out would be ripe.

But with the Pacman as opponent, the actual fight seemed to expose that Hatton could have been thought of as a bum. Had it not been for his impressive credentials, Hatton would have not belonged to the class of the Pacman. Don't get me wrong. Ricky is one of the greatest fighters in the modern world. But Manny is just much better.

So easy, so swift, so clinical – that’s how dramatically Manny dismantled Hatton.

In retrospect, David Diaz looked good in his ninth round TKO loss to Pacman. Oscar Dela Hoya was much better in his own eight round combat with the Pacman. And Pretty Boy Floyd’s performance over Hatton now appears to be mediocre.

Manny Pacquiao himself admitted he was surprised by the ease of his win over Ricky Hatton. Hatton used to clinch the Pacman two times in every thirty seconds as part of his roughhousing strategy but then, the hittable Hitman from Manchester got hit – 57.5% percent of the time. In fact, he only connected 18 out of his 78 punches. Pacquiao on the other hand, connected 73 out of 127. It means that the Hitman was hittable in a frequency of 12.2 blasts per minute while the eely Pacman absorbs only 3 punches per minute, in a lopsided ratio of 4 hits to 1.



THE COACH ROACH FACTOR

But then before the fight, Freddie Roach said that this epic match has the makings of a brand new offering never before seen by boxing fans. “The match-up is the best kind of fight ever to be made”, Freddie as quoted. Before the match, Freddie Roach, the Coach, predicted a knockout in three, Pacman made it shorter in two, through the so-called "ROACH TRAP", which Freddie himself devised.

“I knew it was over,” said Roach. “Ricky fights the same way over and over. He doesn’t have the ability to adjust. I watched the tapes over and over the last few months. I know him as well as I know my fighters.”

“Every time he throws the left hook and cocks it, he is wide open for the right hook from the southpaw stance,” Roach explained. “We worked on that every day in the gym and it just worked beautifully.”

“Manny is unbelievable, he performed the gameplan flawlessly,” said Roach at the press conference. “I’m the best trainer in the world because I have the best fighter in the world.”

Needless to say, Pacman's victory is sweetest to a coach who himself was involved in a bout with the trainer at the other side of the fence. After all that’s said and done, Freddie Roach, the Hall of Famer, is the best boxing guru the world has ever known.


DOODS A. AMORA
May 4, 2009