.. in the 11th round. Just after falling in the 10th.
I became a Pacquiao (the boxer, not the congressman) fan in 2009 when my husband dragged me to watch a Pay Per View of his match with Miguel Cotto. The gym was packed with spectators, male and female, young and old, sports fans and not. It was Standing Room Only and we were at the back where the aircon couldn’t reach us. For an indifferent watcher like myself, it was more interesting to watch the people than the screen. But then halfway through the fight, it was obvious Pacquiao had already won and was only prolonging the event to give Cotto a chance to fight back. That was when my admiration began.
Today was no different. In the 3rd round, Pacquiao knocked his opponent (Shane “Sugar Shane” Mosley, three-time world champion from California) down, leaving him dazed and stunned. Then, as if to prove to Mosley that it really was something he could do intentionally, Pacquiao did a series of quick steps and Mosley went down a second time in round 4.
It was then that Pacquiao changed tactics and it looked like he was once again delaying the inevitable by giving Mosley the chance to regain his footing, so to speak. You could see the darker man favoring his right ear (or right side of his head). To the point, in round 9, that Mosley, being the bigger opponent, was able to sneak in an uppercut and that slight of body that pushed Pacquiao to the floor in the 10th. Well, that made him mad, I think, so much that in the 11th, he was raring to get at Mosley, wanting to knock him down again, and when he couldn’t because he ran out of time — he did a little jig in frustration.
All-in-all, it was a good show. I don’t know much about boxing, let alone the different intricacies of what or what not a boxer should do in the ring, but I know enough to be able to appreciate the feelings of a man who set out to gain victory but got only triumph.
Nevertheless, Manny Pacquiao is still, and, I believe, ever will be… The Greatest Sportsman of All Time!
Mabuhay si Pacquiao!
Life in the Bukids 