If His Legendary Legs Are Still Okay Under Him, Manny Pacquiao Could Still Be Very Competitive
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 26 Aug 2021
Today's tale of the tape is not only misleading but also does not provide other vital statistics which could be crucial.
Current fighters statistics are limited only to age, weight, height and reach and fight record. While the other measurements are constant and hence accurate, the weight which was measured under the present controversial official day or morning before the fight weigh in, is not.
Hence, when Yordenis Ugas, and many other so called welterweights before him enter the ring, they decidedly not only had the size advantage over but also outweigh Manny Pacquiao. Even the ring commentators noted that Ugas looked more like a middleweight (Authorities definitely have to do something to regulate and control this).
But that would have been not much of a problem had Manny not encounter difficulties with his usually dependable pair of legs that night. Manny's epic ring career has been due to his legendary leg power as much as his fighting prowess as his lower extremities provided him a solid base while allowing him to pivot, move horizontally or laterally or in circular motion in attack and defense.
Remember Masahiko Fighting Harada, the bantamweight with a welterweight pair of legs back in 60s? Manny's case is similar to him especially when he was still younger and climbing the weight classes from flyweight.
It has been Manny's secret weapon, secret only because it is not reflected in the tale of the tape. Ugas and most other welterweights may appear more formidable with their height, length and perhaps width but Manny usually made up with his advantages in calf and thigh and even probably the ankle which are all now not being measured like size of the neck, chest, bicep and fist where Manny could also hold the edge.
Those many also failed to fully consider despite the more complete tale of the tape at that time in the first fights between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier and Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas "The Hitman" Hearn and farther back, Rocky Marciano and Jersey Joe Walcott where the smaller men decisively prevailed.
Curiously, in his career, Manny seems to have more problems with fighters his own size and built, especially in the lower extremities. Foes as Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley to whom he suffered two of his total career losses, one even by knockout.
When he was moving up to lightweight in 2007, not a few fans and experts alike were apprehensive that Manny may not be able to sustain the brutal actions against decisively bigger and stronger opposition as they marveled at David Diaz physique, especially his chest, normal and expanded.
They worried that Manny may not be that impervious to physical punishments above 130. He may end up like Elorde, essentially a blown up featherweight against Carlos Ortiz, a sawn up welterweight fighting as a lightweight. The comparison was spot on as David Diaz started as a welterweight.
But what happened was one of the most one sided carnage in boxing history as Manny knocked out Diaz after brutalizing him from almost the get go.
Same things happened when he climbed the super lightweight and the welterweight where Manny showed he can not only hang with the toughest but beat them good basically using his edge in leg power. Guys like Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto, strangers to defeat, were not only beaten up but stopped or knocked out cold.
Many experts tried to understand and explain the Manny Pacquiao phenomenon with some saying he has the bone structure of a heavyweight, other says his bigger head and bigger fists. A few managed to unlock the secret to his durability and success: his leg power which is also the source of his knockout sock.
In explaining his defeat, Manny said he has more difficulties with his legs than dealing with Ugas. For the nth time, Manny showed that he can absorb and sustain punishment from and put his own licks on a virtual middleweight in Ugas as he once did against a bigger Antonio Margarito who reportedly weighed 165 lbs that night in 2011 which The Dean Quinito Henson recalled recently in his column.
Apart from Freddie Roach, no one knows Manny better than his bosom buddy and assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez. And Buboy agreed with Manny: with a problem-free pair of legs that night, Manny could have beaten Ugas.
Did his legs desert him or was it because of over training?
What conclusion can we draw from this?
If his legendary pair of legs are still good under him, Manny Pacquiao could still be very competitive despite his age.
Better than the old and faded Sugar Ray Robinson, the GOAT, in the 60s.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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