For more than a year I’ve sworn off writing about Manny Pacquiao. I got so disgusted over his total commercialization that I took a literary detour from the main road that Manny Pacquiao walks on. I still watch his fights on TV but I kept all my opinions to myself. But, like love, Manny is an undeniable force; and no matter how hard I resist, I am drawn to him just like a moth getting drawn to the light. Ok, that sounded so gay, but Manny is a man’s man and everytime he fights it’s like it’s us who’s actually in the ring.
I last wrote about Manny on his fight with Oscar Larios. That fight was a farce. True he knocked Larios down on the way to a unanimous verdict, but he wasn’t the Manny that I was so used to seeing. But boy did he redeem himself. That second fight with Eric Morales was pure joy. He was a sight to behold. I felt goosebumps seeing those lightning fast combinations. And Erik, gad it’s no wonder they call him El Terrible. He was ruthless and he was full of heart. I have no doubt in my mind that a younger Erik Morales would never have gone down. In the end it all boiled down to a younger good boxer kicking the ass of an older good boxer.
The rubbermatch with Eric was something of a formality. All the terrible-ness of Eric remained only in his mind during that fight. I think he was living in the memory of his former greatness, but really, that fight was a foregone conclusion. He cannot take back his youth. It was actually just a show of bravado on his part. Sort of a living testament to his warrior spirit. Erik went down in three. And with that headshake, I knew he was finished. It was a fitting conclusion to an epic career. Erik would move on to fight one last battle in a heavier weight. He lost and he finally hung up them gloves. Manny fighting that last war with Erik was just doing what was necessary; dotting his i’s crossing his t’s. He’s done with the man known as El Terrible and he moved on.
Manny’s fight with Jorge Solis? What can I say? He was a deer being fed into a lion’s den. Sure he was undefeated and all that, he was feisty too. But in the end, a deer can only resist so much. Manny was a lion, and when he got bored of playing Solis’ games, he devoured him completely.
Even during the preparation for the Solis fight, Manny found himself embroiled in a war in another arena. This time, he bit off more than he can chew. He was face to face with a sweet pretty young thing. He cannot bring out his boxing gloves and ask his opponent to come hither into the ring. In the political arena where money and back stabbing were common fare, Manny found himself ground to dust, a few millions poorer, but hopefully a whole lot wiser.
In less than 10 days, Manny will again embark on another war. This time he will be facing the former great Marco Antonio Barrera. The same boxer he clobbered to submission almost four years ago. Why the rematch did not occur right after, I had no idea. But this time, unfortunately Marco is fighting somebody who’s vastly improved which in that sense alone is a frightening thing. Marco said it himself, he’s already 33 years old, he can no longer change that much. With that statement, how is it possible that he can win against someone who beat the living crap out of him and who has now added so many dimensions to his fighting style? But, as other great writers say, you never underestimate an old tiger. Barrera may be old, and he may be battle weary, but he cannot be overlooked. If Manny doesn’t recognize that come October 6, he may find how painful it is losing to someone people expect you to defeat.
