What matters most: Manny did his best
As a boxing fan, I am proud that Manny Pacquiao did a good job in his fourth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez even though he lost. Pacquiao admitted his carelessness, which is very unpretentious for him to say.
As a boxing fan, I am proud that Manny Pacquiao did a good job in his fourth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez even though he lost. Pacquiao admitted his carelessness, which is very unpretentious for him to say.
HE WAS a big lean copper spring, tightened and retightened through weeks of training until he was one pregnant package of coiled venom… And the spring, tormented with tension, suddenly burst with one brazen spang of activity.”
THERE ARE a lot of weeping and hand-wringing and excuses in the Philippines over the loss of Manny Pacquiao to Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez via a 6th-round knockout last Sunday. The excuses range from the religious (it’s because Manny changed his religion, didn’t wear a rosary around his neck and didn’t pray in his corner before the fight), to the speculative (Marquez used performance-enhancing drugs as evidenced by his bigger muscles) to luck (it was a lucky punch), etc., etc.
THE PUNCH that wiped out Pacquiao wiped out the Pinoy.
THE PAIN of defeat begins to sink into Manny Pacquiao today as he returns to the country early this morning when most Filipinos are still asleep. This time around, he won’t see the adoring crowd welcoming him at the airport and lining the streets, deliriously hailing him as a conqueror, as they had been wont to do during the last several years when he dominated eight weight world championship titles.
IN THE end, Manny Pacquiao lay crumpled on the canvas, face down, his left arm twisted crookedly behind him, his right buried underneath his unmoving body. It was an eerily familiar sight.
Manny Pacquiao came back to the Philippines from the United States and lashed at those who believe that Juan Manuel Marquez won their third fight, telling them “magpaka-Pilipino kayo.”
As a Filipino, I should be happy that my compatriot Manny Pacquiao won a majority decision over Juan Manuel Marquez, yet again. But I must confess: if many of us were confused with the decision in the second match, I was distressed and joyless at the heart-rending outcome of their third fight.
If the third Pacquiao-Marquez match were a non-title bout, I would have agreed with the opinion that Juan Manuel Marquez won the fight. However, it was a title defense, so the challenger had a heavier burden to prove himself the better fighter inside the ring. From its definition, a “challenger” is the one obliged to [...]
If you want to say Manny’s diminished by this, go ahead,” said fight organizer Bob Arum testily, following the latest Las Vegas slugfest between Manny Pacquiao and Mexican challenger Juan Manuel Marquez that resulted in the most controversial win ever to go the Filipino champ’s way. Arum has an interest in keeping the animosity alive [...]
JUAN MANUEL Marquez was robbed! He should have been declared the winner in his fight against Manny Pacquiao. The crowd at the MGM Grand had every right to boo the decision for Pacquiao. Manny himself thought he had lost and was surprised by the decision. Even Filipinos, including rabid Pacquiao fans, believe Marquez won the [...]
What was incongruous was the way people dressed. Inside the ring, Michael Buffer wore impeccable black, his throat dredging up a rumble as he summoned his famous line, “Let’s get ready to rumble!” So were the other ring officials, who looked on at the proceedings and quietly flaunted their importance. So were the security people [...]
