By Greg R. Penilla, M.D.
PhilBoxing.com
A new dawn, a new era is about to transpire in the history of the Sweet Science of boxing. By this time next week, Manny Pacquaio would have already emerged as the only boxer in the planet who would become a seven time world champion in seven weight classes.
Multitude of great and Hall of Fame fighters, the likes of Ali, Robinson, Leonard, Armstrong, Chavez, Duran, Sanchez, etc., have gone before him, but the Filipino warrior will go down in the annals of boxing history as the first, and maybe the last, to achieve this extraordinary feat. Interestingly though, a 154 pounds title is within the realm of possibility.
Unfortunately, despite Pacquiao’s unparalleled accomplishments on top of the ring this decade, detractors abound. In spite of his hallowed place in boxing history, some writers, so-called boxing experts and jealous boxers do not give him all the recognition he rightfully deserves.
This coming Saturday, November 14, Pacquaio is going against Miguel Cotto, a very formidable and elite fighter who is in the prime of his career. He has trained hard and he probably represents the most difficult fight so far for Manny Pacquaio. Although the Las Vegas odds seem to overwhelmingly favor Pacquaio to win, this fight will not be a walk in the park for the Philippines’ “National Fist”. This fight has the makings of the Fight of the Year.
However, win or lose, Manny Pacquiao is between a rock and a hard place.
If he loses against Miguel Cotto, his detractors would surely say, “I told you so, he is not as good as advertised”. It is understandable and perfectly logical for some pundits to pick Cotto as the winner. There is nothing unreasonable about that. What is comical is when analysts disparage Pacquiao.
Oscar De La Hoya is favoring Cotto not because he thinks Cotto is a great fighter but he thinks that Pacquiao does not hit hard enough.
He was quoted as saying, “Pacquiao doesn’t hit hard enough to knock anyone out in the welterweight division. I’m basing that on my fight against Pacquiao. I could’ve stood there and put my face in front of him and he couldn’t have hurt me”.
One would wonder if De La Hoya looked at the mirror at the hospital where he was taken by an ambulance after the fight. Obviously, Pacquiao would have sent De La Hoya to dreamland had he come out in the ninth round. But instead of protecting his boxing legacy and his dignity, De la Hoya opted to quit on his stool knowing that another minute with the pound for pound king would inevitably end up with him sprawled on the canvas.
Oscar De La Hoya would have gotten more respect from boxing purists had he decided to fight to the very end. Ironically, he is now practically saying Pacquiao did not hurt him? Please explain!
When, not if, Pacquiao wins this coming Saturday, it will not be surprising for skeptics to find excuses for Cotto’s loss.
Cotto is over trained
Cotto is weight drained
Cotto is forever damaged by his loss to Margarito
Cotto is distracted
Cotto did not fight the right fight
Cotto has inexperienced corner men
Regardless, excuses will still be made, while Cotto himself has declared that he has completely recovered physically and mentally from the Margarito fight and he is focused, confident, well trained and in the best shape of his life.
Sadly, the doubters will not say, Pacquiao won because he is simply the best boxer of this era.
Manny Pacquiao cannot get any break from some who are hell bent to discredit any of his spectacular wins against all the elite fighters he has demolished.
To the skeptics, he will never be good enough.
When Floyd Jr made the face of Juan Manuel Marquez as a target practice, Mayweather’s supporters all but declared that he is the greatest of all time. There is no doubt that he did win a one sided fight over an old (36), slow, underweight and most of all, a damaged fighter from the two wars he had with Pacquiao.
One really wonders what is more spectacular, a 12 round decision by a significantly bigger, faster and younger fighter who connected a very high per cent of his “power shots” but leaving his opponent standing and relatively unmarked or a smaller fighter who has demolished and reconfigured the faces of his much larger and stronger opponents in breathtaking fashion within a few rounds?
Regrettably, doubters continue to nit pick Pacquiao’s wins.
When Pacquiao, with a mere two week notice, stunned the boxing world in 2001 with his upset win via a 6th round knock out of the world champion Lebwada, the win was called a fluke.
His win against the legendary Marco Antonio Barrera was diminished by the skeptics, pointing out that the future Hall of Famer had been to too many brutal boxing wars and too old (only 29) that Pacquiao’s win was not totally unexpected.
Pacquiao’s inability to finish Juan Manuel Marquez after dropping him three times in their first fight that eventually ended in a draw, notwithstanding an error in scoring that could have made Pacquiao the outright winner on points, convinced the critics that Pacquiao had no boxing skills and a one dimensional fighter.
There was almost a collective sense of excitement among the cynics when Pacquiao lost by unanimous decision to Erik Morales and were eager to point out that Manny was a flash in the pan.
Less than spectacular wins against B fighters like Velasquez, Larios, Solis and a fading Barrera (still only 32) whose strategy was simply to survive, provided the seeds for hesitation for some to declare Pacquiao as a great fighter.
Despite obliterating the Mexican great, Erik Morales in their second and third classic fights, it was unbelievable that some writers still found reasons to tarnish Pacquiao’s astonishing wins. Just like Barrera, Morales was labeled old (only 30) and broken down.
The much awaited second Pacquiao-Marquez fight won by Pacquiao by the slimmest of margin convinced the doubting Thomases that Pacquiao did not deserve the win. It is well known who hit the canvas.
With elite opposition drying up in the lower weight classes, Pacquiao, clearly possessing improved boxing skills embarked on fighting bigger men with spectacular wins. The one dimensional fighter has bloomed into a two armed fighting machine, at the same time remaining fast and powerful.
But to his usual skeptics, Diaz, although a World Champion was a nobody. De La Hoya, although the overwhelming favorite and Oscar’s left hook to Pacquiao’s brain would make him do the crack head dance, was too old (35) and weight drained. Hatton, who was proclaimed by the legendary trainer Angelo Dundee, as possessing a powerful left hook that would bring Pacquiao down but was suddenly labeled to be too slow and over rated after Manny sent him lights out in the second round.
If Pacquaio – Mayweather Fight ever happens and Pacquiao wins, I can almost predict the excuse why Manny wins. He is on steroids.
What more does Pacquiao need to do, to gain the respect of everyone?
Sadly, to some, he will never be good enough.
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