THE MASSACRE AT MGM GRAND
By Doods A. Amora, PEE
Nostradamus’s horror of the unknown has now been revealed and the shockwaves of the aftermath engulfed victory to the Philippines as the tectonic plates continue to shake..!
Fifty-five seconds into Round 12, “Enough is enough!” - Referee Kenny Bayless ruled it. Four rounds ago, he had already seen the irreversible end. And it was in fact a one-sided massacre - a carnage akin to the Diaz, Dela Hoya and Hatton episodes.
And the tough Puerto Rican, Miguel Angel Cotto, his face transformed into a grotesque mask in the end - humbled, owned..., totally vanquished. Now Miguel knows, Freddie Roach’s prediction of a first round knock-out was just a decoy – a ruse to bring him under the master’s skin, but at least he could have wished the prediction was right.
And HISTORY; yes, was finally made. Where nobody had ever treaded before, MANNY PACQUAIO, the TORNADO FROM THE EAST, the so-called PACIFIC STORM successfully affixed his seventh world crown, in seven weight divisions. An elite feat exclusive only to him, Pacquaio has morphed to quell traditional borders of the often insular bubble of boxing. Together with my allies Noel, Cesar, Ely, Loyde, Ernie, Agnes, Burds, Roland, Audrey, Buboy and Mimi; we were all there through PPV witnessing history in the making in real time.
PACMAN’S INCREDIBLE ARSENAL
But then clearly, the genuine welterweight Miguel Cotto was the toughest & strongest challenge the Pacman had ever faced. He lasted until the 12th round of brutal punishment that even the Diaz, Dela Hoys & Hatton episodes all combined, cannot approximate the intensity and the quality of this one epic war.
“Great guy, great performance” Roach said, referring to Miguel Cotto. “He gave it 100 percent, he came to fight. I told Manny that the only time he will hit you is when you are flat footed. When Manny went flat footed, Miguel started doing better with the jab and the straight punches. He fought a much better fight than I thought he would. We talked to him after the fight, and he's quite a gentleman.”
When Pacquiao knocked off to dislodge Roach’s mitt during a drill, people couldn’t help but mumble about how Miguel could handle such a power. The only guys not buying the signal were Cotto’s camp themselves, of course the great Oscar Dela Hoya, Felix Trinidad and other champions in their own rights who couldn’t believe the phenomenon of a diminutive once-upon-a-time 106 pounder. At the prime of his career, the Boricua champion is truly bigger & stronger, in top shape as a result of superb conditioning bringing along a devastating left hook and body banging abilities that are bests in the sport. How can Miguel Angel Cotto lose?
But then as it turned out, the world’s best the pound-for-pound boxer in a smaller Pacman showcased a flotilla of incredible firepower of speed, stock stamina and relentless ferocity delivered in weird angles. To generally describe the fight, Manny did not dismantle Cotto with one shot, but instead relentlessly tattered Cotto with artilleries in unimaginable speed and fluidity in one combination after another. Manny jampacked Cotto from every conceivable angle, heaving, swinging and connecting in blinding speed before Cotto could have the opportunity to set up his own bombs. And the now famous right hook, the Manila Ice, commissioned to keep Cotto at bay, was Pacman’s answer to Cotto’s lightning quick double jabs. Most of the time successful, the right hook did significant damage preparatory to the left straights.
Cotto, fearsome at times with his vaunted jab & right straight combinations, brought great brilliance into the fight. Frighteningly competitive in the first half of the fight, in several times, Cotto did tag Pacman with his left hooks and uppercuts but Pacman’s super-human form would burn out Cotto all night with fast flurries that sent him backwards. Cotto then would retreat only to find more assault coming once again. And round after round, the script did not change. Pacquiao landed almost twice as many punches as Cotto. Pacman’s 336 to Cotto’s 172 - an indication of Pacman’s dominance with accuracy that was increasing as the rounds went the distance.
ROUND BY ROUND ACCOUNT
I should have been biased. Cotto did not win any round in my scorecard. But he won two rounds on the scorecards of two ringside judges and just one round on the card of the third. The Associated Press gave Cotto just the first round. After a ten hour break, this time sober and more generous, I reviewed the fight and gave Cotto the benefit of Round 1.
Round 1 was fairly even. To our thoughts, as Freddie predicted, this could be the knock-out expected. But as the round progresses it became apparent that it was just a prelude to a systematic demolition of the welterweight champion. Pacquiao was cool in the first round even when Cotto was landing and pressuring Pacquaio with some crispy punches of his own. The smoke cleared and Miguel won this one.
But note that moments before the fight, Freddie Roach said, "In the first round of this fight, I'm going to have Manny make a statement. We're not going to give Cotto momentum, because if you give him momentum, he's going to get stronger. We're going to start quick. We're going to show him our power in the first round. We're going to hit him. We're not going to go in and just start swinging on him. We're going to do it smart. Pacquiao knows exactly what to do. We'll walk Cotto into a fight, because he follows. And when he follows, we're going to take advantage of that."
Again, Freddie Roach's declaration of an early first round assault was a deception. He could not yet afford to allow Manny to trade blows with Cotto because Miguel was yet not predictable. As Manny after the fight said, "Our plan was not to hurry, but to take our time. It was a hard fight tonight and I needed time to test his power." True enough, Cotto believed to have climbed the ring at 165 lbs, was visibly much bigger than 24 hours ago at the weigh in. And Cotto started strong. Manny indeed had to test the waters and if and when the knock-out comes, it pours.
In Round 2, Pacman started to make the 'statement of will & testament' that Roach was referring to – giving us spectators the flavour of how it was to be in the entire fight. With relentless ferocity now unfolded, the round was clearly Manny’s. At the end of the round, swelling of Cotto’s left eye this early becomes visible courtesy of Pacman’s Manila Ice.
Round 3: Cotto retaliated with blazing double left jabs followed by one-two combinations. Miguel, this time in the upperhand was winning the round but then, in the midst of a ferocious exchange, Pacquiao dropped Cotto with a hard right hand to the canvas midway in the third round. The knock down seemed not to badly hurt Miguel but he must have sampled the acidity of Pacman’s power. In some scary moments midway in the round, Pacquaio for the first time in his career employed a ‘rope-a-dope’ - a frightening move knowing of Cotto’s monster body blows. Later rounds would show a repeat of the ‘rope-a-dope’ and the boxing world then must have guessed that it must be a ruse to measure Miguel’s power. Or probably a psychological trap to make Cotto frustrated - realizing that his power was not enough.
The fourth canto was a repeat of Round 2 but with more furious power-packed exchanges. Again Pacman’s scary bait, the ‘rope-a-dope’ recurred and Cotto this time found his left hook target – Pacquiao’s right ear. But after Manny put Cotto on the canvas for the second time with a big half-left hook/half-uppercut reminiscent of Dela Hoya’s calibre 45 late in the fourth round, the Puerto Rican was never the same again. He must have savoured the best of Pacman’s early statements of accounts. At the end of the round, red leaks became visible in above and below Cotto’s right eye, while the left eye starting to bulge.
5th Round: Cotto sat on his corner bearing a void expression of a man lost in the dark. Joe Santiago, his trainer vigorously massaged his scalp to revive him. In this round the bait ‘rope-a-dope’ again resurfaced. Unbelievable, but the apparent confidence of Pacquiao doing the rope-a-dope must have been the off-shoot of Shawn Porter’s simulation and sparring during training. With Pacman’s lowered elbows blocking Cotto’s body sledgehammers and gloves covering Manny’s face, Cotto’s vaunted left hook again found its favourite target – the right ear of Pacman. One interesting revelation in this round was that the ensuing body blows seemed not to hurt Pacquiao but on the contrary, Pacman’s body shots appeared to injure Cotto. Cotto survived the fifth round by regressing to his defensive shell.
The champion’s competitiveness came last in Round 6 when the two fighters engaged in several furious back-and-forth flurries. But once again Pacquiao got the better of it – as a stinging left hand near the end of the round shook Cotto, sending him backwards once again. Cotto then retrogressed to cover his face in a child-like mode and later wrestled and pushed Pacquiao away before the Pacman could land another blow. By then the Filipino’s speed was taking a heavy toll on Cotto’s features. The crimson leaks now oozing with more pressure. Cotto in this round started to backpedal. At the end of the round, Cotto’s left shoulder collar bone started reddening.
Round 7 saw another flurry by the Pacman gobbling up the viscerals out of the Puerto Rican. Cotto was in the verge of falling down again, but as great warrior he was, his left jabs & right straights started working again sometimes tagging Pacquiao. With hands now lowered down, waning stamina must have creeped into Miguel’s system. Then Cotto started to run - switching over to survival mode. This time Pacman had penultimately re-sculptured Cotto’s face into pulp, his left collar bone getting redder. Knowing that Miguel never had backpedalled in his entire career, this is it! The end is near. "I knew when Cotto started backing up, the fight was over," Roach said.
Round 8 was very interesting! Better perhaps than Muhammad Ali’s shuffle, Cotto continued to run on his bicycle, this time faster. This must be the secret special package Cotto’s camp boasted before the fight. A rerun of the previous Round 7, Round 8 could have been the end had it been for the clinching. With Miguel’s body language indicated subjugate sequestration, ordinary mortals would have surrendered to submission in this round. But Cotto never gave up. What a warrior! But wait! This time, shiny and swollen fully, it was perhaps very inviting to taste a bite on the deliciously-looking lechon-like ear of the Pacman.
Cotto was battered again in the 9th Round by another combination that sent him in the verge of falling down for good. But the gallant Cotto briefly escaped but it soon happened again - no matter where Cotto went, Pacquiao seemed to be lording everywhere. There was no fire escape, no safe shelter, nowhere to turn to. Cotto had to bravely clinch the Filipino until the Pacific Tornado had blown over. With each crushing moments, Cotto’s face continued to bulge like a captured toad, his eyes now appearing little more than silhouettes.
Already spitting blood with nose bleeding, Cotto fought pathetically in the finishing rounds as he was just trying to survive. With blood oozing down his face, Pacquiao pounded Cotto almost at will. Frustrated over Cotto’s unabated running saw Pacquaio in Rounds 10 & 11 seemed to momentarily stop fighting. “Common, let’s fight to finish it”, Pacman must have said it. Cotto now becomes a pitiful sight. Cotto’s camp tried to stop the fight after the 11th round, but Cotto went back only to take more punishment before a final flurry along the ropes prompted referee Kenny Bayless to end it.
The fateful 12th round was the Tour De Force for Pacquiao when he threw 13-0 and 11-0 shut-out in overall connects & landed power shots respectively.
CALM AFTER THE STORM
What a man! Miguel Angel Cotto, the Puerto Rican was not an ordinary mortal. Despite the punishment, he was still standing. And while Pacman was kneeling down in his corner in prayer; Miguel Angel Cotto embraced Manny’s back in one of the most touching moments following a total defeat. “I’m still proud. I’ve fought everyone, the greatest welterweights, but Manny’s best boxer of all time,” Cotto said. The gesture earned the gentleman from Puerto Rico greatness in humility and respect amidst a crushing defeat.
On the other hand, "I took a lot of punches in this most demanding fight", admitted Manny after possessing Miguel. It goes without saying, Pacman had proven two things: He can walk through and withstand the big blows of the strongest welterweights and he has the power to stop real welterweight titans.
For the hard fight, Pacquiao earned a guaranteed minimum $13 million (possibly up to $ 18 million after PPV and the others), while Cotto got a minimum $7 million for the exhausting near-death job.
THE MEN BEHIND
High-quality corner, yes – Roach, Ariza, Buboy and the sparmates.
Sun Tzu once preached that “if you know the enemy and you know yourself, you can win a thousand battles.” Freddie, the Coach, the Master Architect of destruction to Pacman’s opposition further believes that knowing the enemy’s habits both good & bad and using it against him guarantees victory just as well. Pacman’s recent victories are not just his. Freddie Roach as well, owns them.
Filipinized American Freddie Roach, Coach Par Excellence together with Strength Conditioning Guru, Colombian Alex Ariza and others worked as a team. “We look at all the aspects of conditioning – isometrics, diet, muscle build-up. It’s not the work of any one person. We’re all focused on Manny and we’re excited to be working with the world’s greatest fighter, pound for pound,” Ariza concluded.
"If you rest, you rust". "Your best is not good enough because others must be better". "We need to improve and learning knows no boundaries". "If you stop learning, then you start to die". That for sure in a nutshell, is the philosophy of Freddie Roach, the best boxing guru of all time.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Business is business. It's now time for last man standing, Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
11/16/2009
No comments:
Post a Comment