A Glorious Day
Written by Major Tom
Filed under: Sports
November 20, 2006
T’was in fact a perfect day yesterday, just like that song by Lou Reed that goes “It’s such a perfect day; I wanna spend it with you”. Well, if you were a Mexican and one who reasonably loves boxing, it would have been one hellish day with lots of heavy feeling. But for every Filipino—whether or not he or she loves or is interested in boxing, whether old man or old woman, whether man, woman or child, whether lawyer or street vendor—it was certainly a glorious day when modern-day hero Manny Pacquiao becomes immortalized in a three-round knockout win over the legendary Eric “El Terrible” Morales.
What more can I say? It is always a good thing for our compatriots when someone like Manny Pacquiao sits on top of the world as a victor, especially over world-famed opponents. Just like what Ronnie Alcano did the other day—winning it all and being on top of the world. That even for one day, all of us Filipinos can feel being at the top of the world and be proud of it. And of course, it is such a good feeling that I can’t help but be celebratory at the end of the day and had a friend came over and drank some beer.
Days before the match, I was not as interested as much in the fight as this was already the third edition of the Pacquiao-Morales rivalry and somehow, familiarity with the two fighters got in the way and it wasn’t as exciting as say, looking forward to seeing some highly touted boxer for the first time, like for example watching the young but very savvy Boom-Boom Bautista fights in Las Vegas. Certainly, the rivalry puts a lot of interest in it but you know, everything could have happened in that fight, any of the two could have won that Sunday, and it wouldn’t be such a surprise. Like I wouldn’t be so surprised if Morales had won because just like Manny, he is such a formidable fighter with a marvelous winning record before he jumped into the ring and fell to the mighty hands of Pacquiao.
But when the opening bell rang for the “Grand Finale”, I got so excited that I have never felt this way before ever since those Marvin Hagler-Roberto Duran days or ever since I’ve watch Sugar Ray Leonard strutted like a clever dancer on the ring more than a decade ago. I got extraordinary thrilled the minute I saw Manny Pacquiao went prancing into the ring with very mighty fervor and his moves where so swift in those first moments of the fights that I had no doubt he would win the match with a splendid end. One could see how Manny had conditioned his body well in the days leading to this fight, like he was so vent on winning against a vaunted opponent like Morales and win it without a doubt. His jabs where very sharp and his footwork was the finest I’ve seen. It looked to me that Manny Pacquiao intends to stay in the ring way after this Morales fight and could still take in strong contenders now that he is nearly approaching that borderline age of 30, an age most boxers are not comfortable anymore.
MaxBoxing.Com calls him “the most exciting fighter in the sport today and is the best pound for pound boxer” among the lot. To be sure, I can agree with this observation.
Like what I wrote in my post, the only thing that dampened the jubilation was the sudden entrance of Chavit Singson inside the ring after the fight. Mga pulitiko talaga!
Comment by snglguy — November 20, 2006 @ 7:24 am
To sngl: Funny I didn’t noticed Mr. Singson humping into the ring; I would have been immediately been aghasted. Some guys just don’t have that right amount of delicadeza or forthrightness…tsk,tsk…
Comment by Major Tom — November 20, 2006 @ 9:53 am
Ay, dato na pod si Pacquiao! Pakyawon niya ang mga politiko!(for the Cebuano readers yan).
Well, he’s got it! Third round lang?hmmm…ok, for as long as he stays in sports, he’ll be happy. Please don’t enter politics and what’s this singing again??
BTW, I love that song by Lou Reed.
Comment by ipanema — November 20, 2006 @ 4:53 pm
I wonder if he had already or about to surpass Flash Elorde’s legacy?
Comment by eric — November 20, 2006 @ 7:29 pm
I totally agree with your observation that his footwork was the finest.
I beleive this is one of his assets or maybe God-given ability. As in dancing and sports, good footwork is a factor.
I know this because in tennis, if your footwork is bad or off, no matter how big your arms or muscles or how hard you hit the ball, still there is less power because the awful position of your feet hampers your the fluid movement to execute and produce more power.
Comment by myepinoy — November 20, 2006 @ 8:23 pm
To ipanema: Datu pa siguro sa presidente sa Pilipinas…(laughs), Like you, I do wish he won’t go into politics coz that would taint this legacy that he had worked so hard for.
To eric: We could really not tell at this time. Flash Elorde is Flash Elorde. He was not only good in the ring, but also a very fine gentleman in person—one without the “usual controversy”–that as far as I know. Maybe in time, we could see how far Manny Pacquiao has gone.
To myepinoy: Oh, I once tried playing tennis and my gosh, what a realization I’ve got—it was so much harder than what I thought. I couldn’t eben hit the ball that I gave up on it entirely. Maybe, footwork is not my kind of thing.
Comment by Major Tom — November 20, 2006 @ 10:45 pm
Manny Pacquiao is at the height of his career and because of his power and newly discovered right hand, is opponents’ reason to fight him is not for the crown or the glory but for the money. There seems no reason for him to fight Barrera because the beat him with a TKO victory. The most logical fight is with Juan Manuel Marquez whom he fought with a draw but the man is scared to fight him . There seem to real contenders in his division until he moves to a higher weight.
Comment by bw — November 21, 2006 @ 7:37 pm
To BW: Yeah, I was thinking of that also; only Marquez seem to elude his might. But Marquez remains in a lower weight division while Manny has gone higher, about two divisions in fact and a Pacquiao-Marquez fight might not just be possible. Actually Juan Marquez is to fight another Filipino this coming Sunday on HBO fights—against Jimrex Jaca.
Comment by Major Tom — November 21, 2006 @ 9:27 pm
i am not really a fan of boxing game, but sometime i also watch especially if the match is between Filipino and foreigner. I feel happy when i learn that Pacman won over Morales.
Comment by iskoo — November 23, 2006 @ 6:27 pm
To iskoo: Boxing is such a great part of Filipino life that I myself felt so gratefully compelled to patronize this sport, albeit how violent and harmful it is. So glad that you have discovered it too in delight.
Comment by Major Tom — November 23, 2006 @ 8:53 pm
hindi ko kayang manood ng boxing. naawa ako sa kanila.
Comment by atticus — November 25, 2006 @ 12:03 pm
A glorious day indeed! I can’t wait to get a DVD copy of the fight. I’ll be a Pacquiao fan as long as he keeps his fight in the ring and not step into the ugly world of politics.
About the Marquez - Jaca fight, i just watched it last night in HBO and Marquez KO’d Jaca. Inspite of a cut above Marquez’s right eye caused by a head butt, he was the one who dominated the fight and Jaca wasn’t sharp enough. Jaca has potential and he’s still young so he can still get better. What I want to see is a Pacquiao - Marquez or Barrera. any of those two matchups and to see Manny whoop their ass! hehe
Comment by Jaypee — November 27, 2006 @ 10:11 am
if i were a tv advertiser i wouldn’t be foolish enough to buy a spot in the later rounds of a pacquiao fight he he he. third round — finito! wala talagang kaparis si pacman!
Comment by bambit — December 2, 2006 @ 9:24 am
am guilty of predicting that he’s gonna loose.. but eneweiz, am very happy he won, and i am impressed how hw did it!
Comment by bing — December 4, 2006 @ 8:52 pm
To atticus: Yeah sometimes I feel that the sport is too brutal. Maybe some safety innovation would do boxing good.
To Jaypee: A Pacquiao-Marquez match would be so interesting since Manny hadn’t been able to subdue the guy. I hope it happens.
Bambit: It’s an advertiser’s dream spot I shall say although it may be inexplicably costly…
To Bing: That’s what also I think Bing, Manny is so impressive this time around that in fact, I was a little bit surprised about how he had improved a lot.
Comment by Major Tom — December 5, 2006 @ 8:41 pm