Jingo Quijano
Last round

IN truth, the work of an observer, a fight fan or a critic is simple and easy.

The object of our insatiable pre-occupation is the athlete who tirelessly grinds it out day after day, and sometimes well into the night, in his endless quest for perfection-if at all that is attainable.

And all that we have to do is partake of what has been offered- for us to criticize, laud or leer at our pleasure.

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That is not to say of course, that it doesn’t serve a purpose.

For it is beyond cavil that the athlete needs the critic to give him an honest assessment of the body of work that he provides.

SUBJECTIVE. In the case of Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista, my honest impression based on the feedback that I’m getting is that a lot of innuendo often accompanies his performance.

In his latest outing over the weekend, he scored an eye- catching stoppage win over an equally tough Indonesian opponent.

But not before he himself got staggered and buzzed. Eventually, he succeeded in imposing his own brand of savagery and got the much needed victory via the short route.

Was it impressive? From what I gathered, it depends on whom you ask. But from where this Last Rounder sits (quietly sipping another last round of course), I was entertained and that’s what matters most.

STYLE. It’s a style thing, let me tell you. Truth be told, the kid truly lives up to his sobriquet, as he definitely tries to “boom-boom” his opponents out of there.

Sure, he’s a flawed fighter. Almost everybody is. Except of course for Floyd Mayweather Jr., according to Floyd Mayweather Sr. (Excuse me, while I attempt to disgorge my stomach’s contents).

The kid doesn’t move his head too much and his footwork is still pretty sparse.

But I liked the way he utilized his left hand and kept it plastered to his face when he was defending against his opponent’s right hand bombs.

And yes, the kid still gets too excited when he gets his opponent hurt. But who’s to say that’s a bad thing, really? It’s actually a case of damn-if-you do, damn-if-you don’t.

BANGER. If he had waited too long to make a follow-up, he would be labeled as tentative. If he had chosen to peck and paw his way to a decision win, he would be accused of being safety-conscious, or worse, be tagged as a boring fighter.

The kid is a natural-born banger. He is a puncher who loves to exchange. I say, let him be. He will probably never be a Manny Pacquiao, but who is?

With that aside, his trainers can instead focus on the finer points of slugging it out. When Mike Tyson was young, he was successful because he had the speed, and the stamina to complement the power of his lethal combinations. He also planted his punches well and was supremely confident.

More importantly, he knew what he had and he utilized them to the fullest. He didn’t try to preen and prance his way to a decision victory because that just wasn’t Mike Tyson.

Turning a fighter into something he will never be might prove to be deleterious to his career.

But what about Bautista’s chin? Glass jaw or not, it only means he should be extra careful during exchanges. Or, he should lay down the boom..boom.. pow early. To me, it only adds more to the thrill.

Kill or be killed. Do or die. If that doesn’t pack the crowd in or have you glued to the tube, I don’t know what will.

At the end of the day, if I had to choose watching a replay of all the fights that night, Bautista’s war through attrition would be much more welcome than Cesar Amonsot and Jason Pagara’s half-assed, boring waltzes.

LAST ROUND. It’s on one of my best buddies, top-notch lawyer and CPA, Alan F. Siu who celebrates his birthday this week. Cheers!

(jingo_quijano@yahoo.com)