Earlier, Manny Pacquiao won a unanimous decision over Oscar Larios in a fight dubbed Mano-a-Mano. Pacquiao dropped Larios in rounds 7 & 12. The only thing that bailed Larios out was his supreme conditioning. Chololo was throwing punches until the end but they were more like gestures to ward off Pacman’s evil intentions.

When people said Chololo doesn’t have any pop in his punches, they weren’t exaggerating. In the third round of the fight, Larios connected with a big right hand to an imbalanced Pacquiao. He poured it on, but his looping rights and lefts were telegraphed way in advance that Manny, although clearly stunned, was able to either duck or parry the onslaught.

Sensing that that was the best that Larios could offer, Manny became more confident and proceeded to throw combinations as if he was shadow boxing. The barrage of punches were a blur. To say that Manny’s vaunted left straight was like lightning would be an understatement. Lightning you can see from a distance, Manny’s straight lefts were like winks, they happen in split-seconds but in this case, the winks left Larios with welts and opened up gashes in his face. These winks exploded on Larios’ chin and he didn’t even know where they came from.

I must say that Manny displayed controlled aggression in their fight. I was even inclined to think that he wanted to punish Larios by letting the fight go the distance. Gone was the explosive slugger who would go for broke if an opponent so much as gives him an opportunity. Pacquaio was content to lead with lefts and then throw those blurring combinations whenever he feels that Larios is getting the upperhand or is taking a breather.

In Manny, I think Oscar bit off more than he could chew. True, Manny was having the time of his life with his endorsements and other commitments that his training camp was not that ideal, but his natural talent and God-given speed was still more than enough for Larios. In fact in the post-fight interview, Larios said it himself, it is not so much about Pacquiao’s power but his speed that gave him a lot of trouble.

Larios however has something to brag about when he goes back to Mexico. Unlike his more popular compatriots, Barrera and Morales, he did not lose by KO. He went home battered, but with his pride still intact. He was able to withstand the Pacman’s power and ended the fight standing, albeit defeated. And that is something to be proud of.