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Posted 12/08/2008 at 05:17 PM
It’s tough to say if fans and gamblers at home, in a bar or anywhere else that aired the pay-per-view fight witnessed what I did live at the MGM Grand on Saturday night (in the sense of seeing it live versus on T.V.) but dominance and age difference are the first words that come to mind.
It’s very easy to rehash on the thousands among thousands of recaps and post fight write-ups that have circulated around the globe by now. I’m just posting what I witnessed 15 rows up from the mat.
Right from the get go Manny Pacquaio had that extra bounce in his step that makes the Filipino fighter the best in the business at this point in boxing. Lateral movement, speed to confuse De La Hoya in both hands and the ability to make the once Mexican-American king of the hill champion miss with big shots (beleive me, not many power punches were thrown) was what typified this match until the end.
But let’s just take a step back for a second. It’s not what took place from a round-to-round basis that surprised me, it’s the inactivity, sense of defeat and body language that De La Hoya displayed in and around the sixth round and beyond. Dropping hands to lower your guard is never a good thing, being flat footed from round one is another no-no and almost falling over your feet even before taking some heavy shots is the icing on the cake.
The main point is that De La Hoya didn’t need Manny Pacquiao to expose several things; age, heart, will and the break down of the fundamentals.
The last thing I would love to point out was De La Hoya’s awkward movement of his left shoulder. Rumors were put to rest a long time ago against Ricardo Mayorga in 2006. De La Hoya admitted to tearing the left rotator cuff but after two years you’d think something would be done to repair the problem. Saturday was all that was needed to expose how bad the problem really was. We’re talking about a De La Hoya that fired off just 101 total punches from rounds 6 through 8 (this is compared to Pacquiao’s 253 in the same rounds!!!).
And talk about De La Hoya looking very skimp at the weight-in (147 pounds) had the Vegas numbers moving in Pac-Man's corner from Saturday afternoon until fight night.
This should finally be the point at which De La Hoya makes the transition from active fighter to full time CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, behind a desk. The money isn’t a driving force anymore. Pacquiao was the more eager fighter by 10-fold. Finally, boxing needs someone to step up and carry this sport back into the limelight. If 2008 taught us anything it’s that boxing is in serious danger given the lack of “mega fights”.
The most exciting aspect of seeing this bout live was the energized vibe from the predominant Filipino crowd. The MGM Grand arena was passionate with fans supporting their fighter and this surely played a large part in the psychology of the bout.
While an end of an era has hit the sport, a new one is taking hold. This is Manny Pacquaio's time to shine and the future looks bright if Top Rank, Golden Boy, Gary Shaw Productions, Lou Dibella, Murad Mohammad and Don King Productions (a sinking company if you ask me) can settle their differences for the good of the sport.
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