IMMORTALITY
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 09 Dec 2008
When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer.
These words about Alexander the Great - loosely credited to the English poet John Milton - reverberated inside my head as I stared at the giant screen. I tried to fathom what just happened: Manny Pacquiao just gave the bigger and more accomplished Oscar de la Hoya the worst beating of his life and virtually sent boxing?s Golden Boy into retirement.
The majority said this would be impossible. A great majority thought this fight was a circus. But the majority do not go by the name Manny Pacquiao.
But even the most fanatic Pacman supporters never imagined it would be this easy. Pacquiao was giving up too much in height and reach. He was faster and younger boxer of course, but he was fighting the biggest non-heavyweight attraction in boxing for the past twelve years.
I never imagined Pacquiao would transform into a defensive genius. He made De La Hoya miss using subtle head movement. Oscar was unable to set up his punches because of Manny?s speedy lateral movement. I thought I was watching Willie Pep, Wilfred Benitez or Pernell Whitaker.
De la Hoya?s anemic effort contributed to his defeat. His jab was totally ineffective. His feared left hook became a thing of the past. The right hand lead ? trainer Nacho Beristain and Juan Manuel Marquez?s favorite weapon against Pacquiao ? was nowhere to be found. Freddie Roach was right about Oscar?s inability to pull the trigger.
De la Hoya predicted a fifth round KO win but it was Pacquiao who stepped up the offence in that round and the bout transformed into a dreadful massacre. It was the right decision to stop the fight. Nobody wants to see a ring tragedy especially in a high profile bout. The repercussions are unthinkable.
De la Hoya was at the receiving end of a frightening amount of punishment during the seventh and eighth rounds. It brought back memories of Aaron Pryor?s whirlwind attack against Alexis Arguello in 1982.
Pacquiao?s performance made me reminisce about the all time greats. Three years ago I thought any comparison to Flash Elorde and suggestions that Pacquiao has surpassed the accomplishments of Pancho Villa and Elorde was a bit blasphemous. But Pacquiao?s performance this year ? fighting in three weight divisions and winning world titles in two of them ? has truly earned him the right to stand side by side with boxing?s immortals.
His victory is felt by everyone; from the underemployed Juan dela Cruz whose hand to mouth existence has been fleetingly consoled to the filthy rich sleazy politicians who continue to use him for their own selfish agenda.
Pacquiao?s victories elevate an entire race that for generations have been discriminated, exploited or just ignored by the richer nations. Boxing indeed has shaped our national self-esteem and enduring need for meaning and optimism. If we cannot have world class leaders and a world class economy, at least we have a world class boxer.
Pacquiao will have other big fights and more worlds to conquer before he leaves the sport for good. I doubt if he will have another fight of this magnitude. Even he will be hard pressed to surpass the performance he gave against the Golden Boy. This conquest will make his name live forever.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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