THE TRIUMPH OF BOXING

THE TRIUMPH OF BOXING

by DOODS A. AMORA, PEE

What a fight!

It was a classic dismantling of the last Mexican warrior standing - the Great Antonio Margarito…!

And total annihilation without doubt; in a surgical demolition from the very first round to the end…!

The fight was a confirmation of the PACMAN as the gladiator on top of them all. At an official weight of 144.6 lbs, Pacquaio winning the 154 pound - Super Welterweight Championship Belt (Junior Middleweight in other boxing bodies) is an overwhelming achievement, probably the first of its kind. Remember, Pacquaio was not even supposed to be qualified to the division's minimum weight requirements!

That made the conquest even sweeter in what history’s unparalleled eighth crowns in eight weight divisions. Oscar Dela Hoya made it as a distant second at six; Sugar Ray Leonard, five; Floyd Mayweather Jr. at three … and the other big names, I can’t recall anymore.

The aftermath of the fight saw Margarito suffering a broken bone on the face. Other reports are saying something about a broken eye socket. Whatever it is, Antonio would have to stay longer at the hospital for surgery and more thorough check up. From the looks of it, he may have ended his career this early - and sadly, Margarito will never be the same again.

But then to me, the beatings he got in this lopsided fight may transcend beyond the present obviousness of a broken facial bone, I mean - I’m afraid Antonio may now be treading the path to Parkinson in the near or distant future – himself ending up in what he mimicked on Coach Roach days before the fight.

PACMAN QUITS!

As promised, Antonio Margarito didn’t quit. Robert Garcia, his Trainer, didn’t quit either. Referee Laurence Cole didn’t signal to a quit.

It was the Filipino Destroyer who quit!

In Rounds 11 & 12, Pacquiao took it easy and ceased throwing big bombs at the already devastated foe – but instead toying along to win the rounds and finish the job.

It was a shut-out conquest for one official judge from Germany, 120-108. This fight saw Pacquaio displaying much better in footwork, pin-point accuracy and timing that his left leads constantly knifed into the right side of the face and his right hooks into the left cheek bone of Margarito. The 11th Round made Margarito’s left eye shut closed and his right eye reduced to a peeping slit.

My personal score card showed 119-109. Having been generous to whoever the Pacman fights, I gave the benefit of an even Round 6 and a 10-9 for Margarito in Round 8. In Round 6, Margarito caught Paquaio a good body-punch but Pacquaio in his own words, “survived the round” and came back blazing strong with shots of his own.

As predicted by Freddie Roach, the fight may end up in a knock-out in the early rounds. Round 4 could be it! But Margarito refused to go down. Margarito was real big and tougher than Team Pacquaio thought. I scored it 10-8 for Pacquaio for a very lopsided canto.


THE MISMATCH

The schooling by Pacquaio on Margarito was not without worries. Reporting for duty on fight night at 165 lbs against Pacquaio’s 148, the 17 pound difference in weight was too much of a mismatch.

‘Mismatch’… again?
Yes, the word reminded me of the first ‘mismatch’ with Oscar Dela Hoya. Of course, history tells us that mismatch may be nothing to Pacquaio as it turned out the other way around. But then, Margarito is taller, bigger and heavier than Dela Hoya. Granting that Oscar was already washed up at the time, Antonio Margarito is arguably still in his prime and he trained hard methodically & traditionally. Unlike Oscar's hi-tech weight regimen, Antonio rehydrated well to 165 on fight night. At 144.6 lbs on weigh-in Pacquiao had not even reached the maximum of the welterweight category. At 17 pounds difference in a super welterweight fight; no boxing pundit could not ever panic.


But then the fight was easy…

Three weeks before the fight date I wrote, “… a lot of set maneuvers in sequenced drills have yet to be made perfect”. That’s the concern of Coach Freddie Roach. As a coach and master strategist, it is his job to study the opponent – the strengths to be avoided, along with the weaknesses to be exploited upon. To top them all are the opponent’s bad habits – because it is in these bad habits that counters can be exploited to the fullest.


In short, it’s the power of anticipation – in Bruce Lee’s lingo, ‘Jeet Kune Do’. In Domeniko du Surigao’s language, ‘Nimo Naranai Do’.

Whatever it is, Coach Freddie has to anticipate. He has to develop antidotes to the opponent’s strengths. He has to re-enforce Pacman’s best moves, while diminishing Manny’s weaknesses. He needs to develop counter-measures to dominate the weaknesses and bad habits of the opponent.

An old dog maybe a willful recipient of new tricks, but the same dog goes back to its old form after learning painful terror lessons in the early rounds. And these same old mistakes resurface again and again. When this happens, the pre-determined, drill-perfected ambuscades become ripe for the kill.

That’s the forms with the mechanical mitts simulations are all about. Although in different forms of execution, it always happened all the time in Pacman’s recent fights. Remember Dela Hoya, Hatton & Cotto…?

If Pacquaio’s best defense is his offense, so be it. The Coaches' concerns to have Manny execute all-night offense – relentlessly giving Margarito no chance to launch his own offense. That meant stamina and speed. Again, it happened to all of the Pacman’s recent fights.

Now, the output of anticipation is the Game Plan.

“It’s an easy fight for us if we stick to the game plan. Manny knows what to do in every situation and we won’t lose (even) one second of the fight,” the Chief Trainer Freddie Roach said two days before the fight.

In the actual fight, Pacquiao was seen sticking to the game plan and the game indeed became methodical. But the easy fight became the physically hardest fight for the Filipino phenom. Pacman in a post-fight interview said, that he is still feeling aches and pain inflicted by brave Mexican whom he was not able to knock out or knock down in their 12-round match.


THE TRIUMPH OF BOXING

So then, the victory over Margarito was Manny’s added glory. It is his - and nobody can take it away from the man.

But then it’s Coach FREDDIE ROACH’s success and PHILIPPINE BOXING’s triumph too, at least for now.

In a team game like Boxing, we need good coaches and good pupils too. Something like ‘brains & brawns’ stuff. The Coach must be a figure to be trusted, respected and be looked up – that’s why he is the ‘coach’. If the pupil (who incidentally is the Boss) starts ‘not to believe’ in the coach anymore, it’s useless then to prolong the marriage. After all, in the boxing world; the coaches are just part of the pupil’s payroll.

The Baguio camp turned out not as good as expected. As Freddie quipped, “I think Congress is a little too close to Baguio and he’s missing the roll call and so forth. He wants a perfect attendance and all that. Then the President wants to talk to him.”

As Boxing doesn’t mix well with Politics, the first week in LA’s Wild Card gym was also marred by unexpected political side-trips. Damage control had to be done. At Wild Card, it was Roach’s call to close the doors. The crucial remaining days were kept secret. And that’s it that matters!

“From Baguio until now was a huge difference. The three weeks in America was great for him, his concentration level, his focus is a hundred percent better. His boxing was better. Everything is better”, Roach as quoted a few days before the fight.

When asked in a post-fight interview, Pacman said, “I’m a fighter and I have to do my job. My concern is not just for myself but for the people, how I can give them excitement, that’s all.” Of course, that’s Planet PACMAN is all about. The Sambayanang Filipino still wants to see their Hero there on top of the Boxing World – that’s my own opinion, by the way.

As the Boxing World beckons, Juan Manuel Marquez is the only fighter close to Pacman’s class. He however was once destroyed by an over-the contracted weight Floyd Mayweather Jr. To make things palatable, Juan Manuel Marquez must first crush Michael Katsidis convincingly by a knock-out, and then fights fellow Mexican Antonio Margarito. After the winnings, it will be good for Boxing to see him with Pacquiao in the Ring at 147 lbs.

The world fantasizes one more fight in either Marquez or Pretty Boy Floyd and the Filipino Nation (again, in my own opinion) will then free the Congressman to all the politics he wants.

After all, the Hero would have retired from Boxing a Hero – if that’s the case. Who knows, he may be a better performer in the other world of Politics.