STORM CLOUDS: Early thoughts on the Trilogy
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 03 Aug 2006
Editor's note: PhilBoxing.com would like to extend a warm welcome to Rene Bonsubre, Jr. to the PhilBoxing.com family.
Pacquiao-Morales III will be on every boxing fan’s daily menu from now till November. The weight issue has added an additional thrill to the anticipation of watching them face off in mortal combat. In the next few weeks daily dosages of debates on strategy and adjustment will be seen in every form of mass media.
In their first encounter, Morales won because he executed better. In the second fight, Pacquiao won because he imposed his will. A boxer is only as good as his last performance. For their third encounter, Pacquiao will have to transform himself once again into an uncontrollable force of nature that the sweetest science cannot master.
Morales is smarting from that loss. But can he reclaim his physical gifts? His trilogy with Marco Antonio Barrera took a lot from both fighters and left both of them a split second slower. His two fights with Pacquiao were also physically draining affairs. Boxing is a sport that shows no mercy to its ‘senior citizens”.
El Terrible will be thirty years old this September. He was boxing since the age of five and turned pro at sixteen. He has lost three of his last four fights. Will the extended rest rejuvenate him? Can he really make the 130 lb. weight limit? Pacquiao hinted in an ABS-CBN interview that he may fight Morales even if the Mexican is overweight. But how much extra weight will the Filipino icon tolerate?
For every pound the Mexican goes over the 130-lb super featherweight limit he will have to pay half a million dollars. Same goes for Pacquiao. Morales hired a nutritionist for his weight problems. This is not a one hundred percent guarantee for success. You only need to compare his appearance during the weigh-in last January and his interview with Dyan Castillejo a couple of months ago and see the big difference and the amount of weight he will have to lose. The bottom line is how his body will react when the weight loss is combined with weeks of brutal physical training. Then there is fight time to think about.
Morales lost three of his last four fights. His victory over the Pacman was his last great performance. Can he turn back the hands of time? I wonder if he could prime himself into fighting a more cautious technical fight rather than giving fans another shootout. There is a bruised pride that needs to be healed. His last ring appearance had him crawling on all fours. That image is not just on the mind of fans but is imprinted on Morales’ psyche as well.
Pacquiao gave a decent performance against Oscar Larios after six weeks of training. His speed and power was still there in the twelfth round. But that will not be enough for Morales. It certainly was not good enough for Freddie Roach. Pacquiao will have to prepare for the best version of El Terrible this time around.
Once again this will be a spine-chilling encounter with Pacquiao trying to get past Morales’ long jab and taking shots including that dreaded uppercut. The Pacman will have to make every punch count every time he gets in. Every boxing fan on both sides of the Pacific will be transfixed to the screen with knots in their stomachs in awe of the unfolding battle before them.
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