PACQUIAO VS. MORALES PART II
By Manny Piñol
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 11 Sep 2005
I was one of those who made a fearless forecast that Manny Pacquiao would win over Erik Morales in their first meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada in March this year. In fact, I predicted that Manny would win by knockout.
True, Manny lost that fight but until today I am convinced that he could have won that fight.
Pacquiao's loss to Morales in their first fight was a result of an overconfident corner which panicked when it was evident that their initial plan on how to handle the Mexican champion did not work.
That fight could have been won had the cornermen calmly analyzed the problem. They would have realized that Pacquiao was like a fly getting trapped in Morales' web.
Pacquiao proved to be the one-dimensional fighter Morales' camp said he was. Instead of trapping the Mexican, Manny chased him all over the ring like a bloodhound running after a rabbit.
He allowed Morales to move towards his right flank thus rendering his vaunted left ineffective. Had Pacquiao cut Morales' escape route in his right flank, he would have been able to land the powerful combination that sent many of his opponents to dreamland.
The proof to this was what happened in the last round when Pacquiao started throwing his right hook thus forcing Morales to move to the left of Pacquiao which allowed the Filipino champion to land the big bombs.
Pacquiao's cornermen, led by Freddie Roach, implemented the adjustment in the fight plan only towards the end of the fight when the bloodied Filipino champion was behind on points in the scorecards of all of the judges.
By that time too, Pacquiao was already tired and somehow the power behind his punches were diminished.
I am submitting this analysis because in the Pacquiao-Morales II, which is inevitable, I will still maintain that a well-prepared and conditioned Manny Pacquiao would beat the Erik Morales who won in their Las Vegas encounter.
There are imminent dangers though for Manny Pacquiao in his second meeting with Morales in January of next year.
The most serious of this is the fact that Pacquiao will be celebrating his birthday on December 17.
Why is this dangerous? It is because of the penchant of Manny to party and celebrate special occassions.
The moment Manny gives importance to celebrating his birthday in December and take time off from his training in preparation for the January fight, he would not be in top shape for the most crucial fight in his career.
The other dangers are of course Manny's unstoppable fascination for cockfighting and billiards which could give him sleepless nights.
If Manny could avoid these imminent dangers, I am confident he will win convincingly in his second meeting with Erik Morales, a task that he could have achieved in their first meeting had he prepared well and had his corner not panicked.
A victory by Manny over Morales could elevate him to a status never before achieved by any other Asian boxer. Along with that would come lucrative deals that would make him the richest Filipino athlete ever.
The key to that is simply discipline.
***
Text thought of the week: "Like birds, let us leave behind what we do not need to carry -- pain, sorrow, anger and hatred. Fly light and enjoy life."
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Manny Piñol.
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