THE DREAM FIGHT FOR THE AGES
(Pacman Schooled the Golden Boy)
(Pacman Schooled the Golden Boy)
by Doods A. Amora, PEE
The reality of the dream came in sweet…
But in the lurking shadows, a nightmare lingers not only for now, but for long in the stretch of unkind history...
SWEET DREAMS, HAUNTING NIGHTMARES
“In a Fight Between A Good Big Man and A Good Little Man, the Good Big Man Always Beat the Good Little Man.” That’s the state of things before the morning of December 7 in the Philippines. But then a david named Pacman lopsidedly but unexpectedly vanquished the legendary goliath in a masterful display of domination.
"Our dream came true," Roach said. "It was no surprise. I knew in round one we had him. He had no legs, he was hesitant, and he was shot. My guy was just too fresh for him."
With his left eye swollen shut and face bruised, the Big Man called out similar to Roberto Duran’s infamous “no mas”!
Eight rounds of punishment were enough. There’s no sense prolonging the pain.
The mismatch is over. The nightmare had to be stopped...
THE PREPARATION
Before the fight, Freddie Roach was tagged as 'irresponsible' when he led the Pacman’s camp in making this mismatch to happen. But Roach maintained that Oscar can’t pull the trigger anymore. Except for the die-hard Pacman fans, Freddie was not being believed. The odds showed it. Even in the Philippines, a lot of the money in the last minute came out for Dela Hoya.
To be honest, I was scared of this fight. When Oscar fought Pretty Boy Floyd, my scorecard was for Dela Hoya. I watched them again lately and I still believe Dela Hoya won that fight. What awed me were the stiff machine-gun jabs that kept Pretty Boy at bay, the strong big left hooks that Pretty Boy highly respected and the 45 degree angled uppercuts that had paralyzed a lot of champions. They, as I imagined, must be too much weaponry against the smaller Pacquiao. And Oscar is not the lethargic type. He is himself a relentless pumping machine.
Who is not scared of the Golden Boy?
De La Hoya had a monstrous training camp at the Big Bear Mountains in California. In preparing for this fight, a lot of new arts & sciences in body conditioning like acupuncture, plyometrics, exotic diet, etc; all these had been incorporated into a novel regimen supervised by two of boxing world’s greatest maestros: Angelo Dundee and Nacho Beristain. With two top southpaws in Victor Ortiz and Edwin Valero as sparring partners, what else can a boxing pundit ask for?
A week before the fight, De La Hoya was said to have slid phenomenally down to 145 and later at 141 pounds. On the opposite side, Pacquiao was reportedly hovering at some 153 lbs - meaning that Pacquiao in a likely twist of events could be the heavier guy comes fight time. Unbelievable...?
But in the lurking shadows, a nightmare lingers not only for now, but for long in the stretch of unkind history...
SWEET DREAMS, HAUNTING NIGHTMARES
“In a Fight Between A Good Big Man and A Good Little Man, the Good Big Man Always Beat the Good Little Man.” That’s the state of things before the morning of December 7 in the Philippines. But then a david named Pacman lopsidedly but unexpectedly vanquished the legendary goliath in a masterful display of domination.
"Our dream came true," Roach said. "It was no surprise. I knew in round one we had him. He had no legs, he was hesitant, and he was shot. My guy was just too fresh for him."
With his left eye swollen shut and face bruised, the Big Man called out similar to Roberto Duran’s infamous “no mas”!
Eight rounds of punishment were enough. There’s no sense prolonging the pain.
The mismatch is over. The nightmare had to be stopped...
THE PREPARATION
Before the fight, Freddie Roach was tagged as 'irresponsible' when he led the Pacman’s camp in making this mismatch to happen. But Roach maintained that Oscar can’t pull the trigger anymore. Except for the die-hard Pacman fans, Freddie was not being believed. The odds showed it. Even in the Philippines, a lot of the money in the last minute came out for Dela Hoya.
To be honest, I was scared of this fight. When Oscar fought Pretty Boy Floyd, my scorecard was for Dela Hoya. I watched them again lately and I still believe Dela Hoya won that fight. What awed me were the stiff machine-gun jabs that kept Pretty Boy at bay, the strong big left hooks that Pretty Boy highly respected and the 45 degree angled uppercuts that had paralyzed a lot of champions. They, as I imagined, must be too much weaponry against the smaller Pacquiao. And Oscar is not the lethargic type. He is himself a relentless pumping machine.
Who is not scared of the Golden Boy?
De La Hoya had a monstrous training camp at the Big Bear Mountains in California. In preparing for this fight, a lot of new arts & sciences in body conditioning like acupuncture, plyometrics, exotic diet, etc; all these had been incorporated into a novel regimen supervised by two of boxing world’s greatest maestros: Angelo Dundee and Nacho Beristain. With two top southpaws in Victor Ortiz and Edwin Valero as sparring partners, what else can a boxing pundit ask for?
A week before the fight, De La Hoya was said to have slid phenomenally down to 145 and later at 141 pounds. On the opposite side, Pacquiao was reportedly hovering at some 153 lbs - meaning that Pacquiao in a likely twist of events could be the heavier guy comes fight time. Unbelievable...?Odd indeed because Pacman fans were looking forward to a drained Oscar as a result of dieting, if not, of starvation en route to achieving 147 lbs. Fearsome looking on the contrary, the weigh-in pictures showed a well-trimmed, well sculptured and a physically excellent Oscar Dela Hoya.
Meanwhile, Pacman’s mentor Freddie Roach elected to make the most of the same old traditional Wild Card sweat-shop style of training. Although Plyometrics was also explored but later it was abandoned - it reportedly did not fit to Pacman’s metabolism. With less fanfare this time, the Pacman worked, worked & worked diligently to the limits.
Entering the ring at 148.5 pounds from the 142 pounds at official weigh-in, Pacquiao surprisingly, was the heavier fighter when the first bell rang. De La Hoya, who weighed 145 just 24 hours earlier, came into the ring Sunday at 147. Defying traditional logic, something was smelling fishy..? Nah, charge it to the wonders of modern science...
OSCAR CAN’T PULL THE TRIGGER ANYMORE?
Although Oscar showed some brilliance in the first round, Manny Pacquiao set the texture of the fight – influencing the action, out-speeding and out-hitting Oscar De La Hoya. In the third round, we already knew Pacquaio had Oscar beaten; the reddening of Oscar’s face was manifestation of a prelude to a massacre.
The feared big Left Hooks although executed once in a while, just hit air all night. Likewise, the rangy & rapid jabs could not smack the mark and the right straights could not be set up. All the while, the missiles called Caliber 45 didn’t show its effectiveness even with the proddings of Nacho Beristain. At this time it appeared that all the pre-fight hypes about the size & reach advantage and the conditioning marvels of De La Hoya eventually meant nothing.
What happened? Probably, the Golden Boy can't pull the trigger anymore.
In fairness to ODLH, to me Oscar can still pull the trigger but not if Manny Pacquaio is his opponent.
Constantly waving and moving his head from side to side, up & down, and side-stepping to Oscar’s left, Pacman kept eluding De La Hoya's attempts to headhunt. Frustrated and confused, Oscar increased his intensity, only to bump into thorns of counter left hands and right crosses of Pacquiao. As a result, Oscar couldn't set-up his timing as the explosions of his arsenal of guns jammed. Then, with speed and accuracy, Manny would come back from nowhere, step forward, and at the same time tag straight lefts direct up to Oscar's facade.
Midway in the fight, Manny increased his zigzagging from side to side, darting in and out; while unleashing castigating combinations. While there were occasional flurries of left hooks and right starights by Dela Hoya but Manny then would bob down and spin around, further moving to Oscar’s left – in the process bringing him safely out of range. Oscar couldn't strike back, because Manny like a ninja wasn't already there. Stealthy? Yes, Manny continued his stealthy form all night, keeping Oscar's radar perplexed.
Oscar in the later rounds increasingly became helpless. It became clear that the hurricane that once terrorized the lighter weight divisions had turned out to be a tornado in the welterweight. And as the twisters came from all angles, Oscar concentrated to block Manny’s punches, disabling himself to deliver shots of his own. Manny in turn, fired missiles of lead straight left hands, then right hooks, then a barrage of looping lefts, then right uppercuts, and lefts to the body and so on and so forth - as a new cycle of attacks would begin again and again.
Meanwhile, Pacman’s mentor Freddie Roach elected to make the most of the same old traditional Wild Card sweat-shop style of training. Although Plyometrics was also explored but later it was abandoned - it reportedly did not fit to Pacman’s metabolism. With less fanfare this time, the Pacman worked, worked & worked diligently to the limits.
Entering the ring at 148.5 pounds from the 142 pounds at official weigh-in, Pacquiao surprisingly, was the heavier fighter when the first bell rang. De La Hoya, who weighed 145 just 24 hours earlier, came into the ring Sunday at 147. Defying traditional logic, something was smelling fishy..? Nah, charge it to the wonders of modern science...
OSCAR CAN’T PULL THE TRIGGER ANYMORE?
Although Oscar showed some brilliance in the first round, Manny Pacquiao set the texture of the fight – influencing the action, out-speeding and out-hitting Oscar De La Hoya. In the third round, we already knew Pacquaio had Oscar beaten; the reddening of Oscar’s face was manifestation of a prelude to a massacre.
The feared big Left Hooks although executed once in a while, just hit air all night. Likewise, the rangy & rapid jabs could not smack the mark and the right straights could not be set up. All the while, the missiles called Caliber 45 didn’t show its effectiveness even with the proddings of Nacho Beristain. At this time it appeared that all the pre-fight hypes about the size & reach advantage and the conditioning marvels of De La Hoya eventually meant nothing.
What happened? Probably, the Golden Boy can't pull the trigger anymore.
In fairness to ODLH, to me Oscar can still pull the trigger but not if Manny Pacquaio is his opponent.
Constantly waving and moving his head from side to side, up & down, and side-stepping to Oscar’s left, Pacman kept eluding De La Hoya's attempts to headhunt. Frustrated and confused, Oscar increased his intensity, only to bump into thorns of counter left hands and right crosses of Pacquiao. As a result, Oscar couldn't set-up his timing as the explosions of his arsenal of guns jammed. Then, with speed and accuracy, Manny would come back from nowhere, step forward, and at the same time tag straight lefts direct up to Oscar's facade.
Midway in the fight, Manny increased his zigzagging from side to side, darting in and out; while unleashing castigating combinations. While there were occasional flurries of left hooks and right starights by Dela Hoya but Manny then would bob down and spin around, further moving to Oscar’s left – in the process bringing him safely out of range. Oscar couldn't strike back, because Manny like a ninja wasn't already there. Stealthy? Yes, Manny continued his stealthy form all night, keeping Oscar's radar perplexed.
Oscar in the later rounds increasingly became helpless. It became clear that the hurricane that once terrorized the lighter weight divisions had turned out to be a tornado in the welterweight. And as the twisters came from all angles, Oscar concentrated to block Manny’s punches, disabling himself to deliver shots of his own. Manny in turn, fired missiles of lead straight left hands, then right hooks, then a barrage of looping lefts, then right uppercuts, and lefts to the body and so on and so forth - as a new cycle of attacks would begin again and again.
THE SCHOOLING OF THE GOLDEN BOY
As everyone now knows, Pacquiao extraordinarily & systematically dismantled the legend out of Oscar De La Hoya. “The body punches killed Oscar”, quipped Roach. "I knew it because he started to slow down in the third and fourth after he felt Manny's power."
And while boxing experts predicted a ‘schooling’ by Oscar on the Pacman, what happened was the opposite.
The signatures of power and relentless combinations performed in blinding speed did it again – in the process making the Golden Boy as if inept and mediocre.
With Pacquiao’s lessons seemingly able to find its targets at will, the fight became so lopsided that one could see the imminent end of the career of boxing's richest & brightest star.
“Manny is like the Energizer bunny,” said Richard Schaefer, chief executive officer of De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. “You can’t stop him. You can’t pull the batteries out. That’s why they call him the Pacman, because he never stops,” he added.
De La Hoya landed only 83 out of 402 thrown punches which can be translated into 10.375 blows per round, or 3.458 punches per minute. It's not that Oscar became lazy in this fight. He just couldn't unleash and hit a moving target in a ninja-like Pacman.
Pacquiao on the other hand, delivered a quality throughput of 224 of 585 punches. This translates into 28 landing blows per round, or 9.33 per minute. In other words, for every punch that hits Pacquaio, Manny did some three power shots to answer the Golden Boy.
It was painful to watch, it was again, a mismatch, a massacre so to speak!
The end of the eighth round became the end of the episode. Oscar’s decision to call it quits was probably easy. The decision to call good-bye to a career may be a lot tougher.
THE CONCLUDING PART
Pacquiao was way ahead on the scorecards of judges Stanley Christodoulou (79-72), Adalaide Byrd (80-71) and Dave Moretti (80-71) at the end of eighth round. In my book, it was a sweep, 80-72, for the Pacman.
When the massacre was stopped at the end of the eighth, Oscar immediately walked his way across the ring to congratulate Manny on his victory. Manny thanked him and said, "You're still my idol, whatever happens." Oscar answered, "No, you're now my idol!" It was one of the few counters that ODLH had successfully delivered that night.
Pacquiao’s domination over the Golden Boy had again confirmed that he is the best P4P fighter in the world. But the equally real winner in my opinion was Freddie Roach. With Roach, the hurricane in Pacman steadily improved in each and every fight - making him one, if not the fiercest destroyer in the fistic world. Pacquaio in his part must be credited for his gifts of speed and power. By speed, we mean not only hand-speed but tremendous leg-speed, included. Those powerful limbs enabled him to get in and out, and go side to side in circles in unbelievable quickness of a leopard. That's Pacman's secret unveiled!
In the end, Oscar Dela Hoya is synonymous to big time fights. But "the unknowns that took its toll are his age, his inactivity, fighting a southpaw, the degree of hunger and motivation. Those intangibles will only be known once he gets into the ring”, as one top boxing expert once said in an article.
Whatever happens, the great Oscar Dela Hoya is still an idol in the fistic world. That's a fact!
When the massacre was stopped at the end of the eighth, Oscar immediately walked his way across the ring to congratulate Manny on his victory. Manny thanked him and said, "You're still my idol, whatever happens." Oscar answered, "No, you're now my idol!" It was one of the few counters that ODLH had successfully delivered that night.
Pacquiao’s domination over the Golden Boy had again confirmed that he is the best P4P fighter in the world. But the equally real winner in my opinion was Freddie Roach. With Roach, the hurricane in Pacman steadily improved in each and every fight - making him one, if not the fiercest destroyer in the fistic world. Pacquaio in his part must be credited for his gifts of speed and power. By speed, we mean not only hand-speed but tremendous leg-speed, included. Those powerful limbs enabled him to get in and out, and go side to side in circles in unbelievable quickness of a leopard. That's Pacman's secret unveiled!
In the end, Oscar Dela Hoya is synonymous to big time fights. But "the unknowns that took its toll are his age, his inactivity, fighting a southpaw, the degree of hunger and motivation. Those intangibles will only be known once he gets into the ring”, as one top boxing expert once said in an article.
Whatever happens, the great Oscar Dela Hoya is still an idol in the fistic world. That's a fact!
Doods Amora, PEE
December 8, 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment