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Photo © German Villasenor
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First of all I must apologize for not doing a follow up article on the Morales - Pacquiao II, a fight in which Pacquiao reversed the previous outcome not just by defeating Morales but by doing so in grand fashion, overwhelming Morales and stopping him in the tenth round. Early on, this fight was a seesaw battle; Morales appeared early on to be the better boxer once again but this time around Manny found a way to make adjustments and began landing big left hands, penetrating Morales' defense or lack of it.
Pacquiao would keep tremendous pressure on Morales, forcing him to fight even when he didn't want to. It appeared as though Morales just succumbed to the relentless pressure applied by Pacquiao.
Manny has now made himself the man to beat as he has distanced himself from the rest of the pack in the Jr. Lightweight division; wins over Morales and Barrera have to make him the man. He definitely has put himself on the radar as the man to beat.
Pacquiao’s status has risen to that of a rock star in his native homeland, the Philippines, where he has also become a symbol of hope for any young fighter with ambitions of becoming a prizefighter. Pacquiao has become to his people what Joe Louis once was to his African-American race.
I have always liked watching Manny as a fighter. I think he's sixty thrills a minute and certainly gives you your money's worth and some; win, lose or draw you will leave the arena entertained. Pacquiao fans are upset with me because I didn't consider him great as a fighter. I still stand on that, the word great is too easily tossed around in sports nowadays. Unquestionably, Manny has made great achievements, and I'm sure will be a lock for the Boxing Hall of Fame. However, he still has a lot of career left and while it is possible that by his career’s end I will feel the same as his fans, I still think it's too soon to associate the words great fighter with him at this point. Nevertheless, as a symbol of hope and inspiration, he is certainly great and that I can't deny.
Manny Pacquiao has defeated all the top Mexican fighters with the exception of the draw to Juan Manuel Marquez. In my honest opinion I think he also won that fight; dropping Marquez three times in one round is a three-point swing, therefore, he would only have had to win four more rounds to win the fight, which I felt he did, although Marquez made great adjustments and boxed brilliantly to close the gap between the two.
When Pacquiao defeated Morales I got so much mail from Pacquiao fans insisting on anything from I was prejudiced against Manny to he beat Morales because he had stronger faith in God. None of that is true; as a writer and a fan I just picked one fighter over the other and the guy I picked lost, it's that simple. We all have opinions but to reach and create things that don't exist is a bit much. While it is true that I had a personal relationship with Morales, I picked him because I thought he had the better boxing skills. I felt that those skills would see him through, which was not the case, and he lost.
I posed this question to one of Manny's fans, does beating Morales automatically make you great? Is Morales the criteria for greatness? If he is, that would mean Zahir Raheem is great also while in reality only the purest boxing fans know who he is.
I have no personal attack on Pacquiao; I simply picked the wrong guy, that's it in a nut-shell. I don't believe that God is anymore on Pacquiao's side than He is on anyone else's side. We are all God's children and I don't think God chooses one over the other. If picking one guy over the other makes me prejudiced, I guess that would make us all guilty of being prejudiced. I have nothing against Manny Pacquiao; I don't even know him, and he has done nothing to me.
Keep in mind that although I write I'm still just a fan like everyone else. Boxing is the "Theater of Upsets." I picked the wrong guy that night and chances are I will probably pick the wrong guy again.
However, I do thank Manny fans for staying on my case and making me step up to the plate, because I did owe them an explanation as to why I didn't do a follow up article.
To Manny and his die-hard fans go this message: I wish Manny Pacquiao much more success in the future and by the time his career is over I will be the first one to step up and say he was a great fighter. Believe it or not, I'm also Manny Pacquiao fan....
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© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2006
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By Jeff Mayweather (March 27, 2006)
