|
Monday, November 17, 2003
Pacquiao shocks the ‘world’s best’
By HOMER D. SAYSON
Of Sun.Star Cebu
CHICAGO — The punches came in waves. Heavy, full of malice and unrelenting. When the savage fury of fists finally stopped with four seconds left in the 11th round, Marco Antonio Barrera was beaten to a pulp, awash in exhaustion as a hungrier and infinitely stronger Manny Pacquiao emerged as unquestionably the best featherweight of his generation.
Such was the story of yesterday’s rumble at the Alamodome in Texas. Youth conquered experience, power neutralized craft. Pacquiao landed a total of 309 of 838 punches, 257 of which were hit so hard even Barrera’s left breast tattoo tried to duck. The Mexican legend ran, but he couldn’t hide.
Pacquiao took his share of lumps, too, absorbing 172 of Barrera’s 547 punches. But none of those blows, including haymakers in the fifth and sixth rounds, could break the spirit and determination of the 24-year-old Pinoy.
In proving that he could trade leather with the hardest hitters in the 126-pound division, Pacquiao also erased doubts on his endurance, showing enough energy to last 20 rounds.
Pacquiao dictated the fight’s tone, throwing 56 punches in a typically quiet opening round. Although Manny would lose that round after the referee erroneously ruled his slip as an official knockdown, he kept his poise and surged on in the second round where he gained tactical control by whipping one-two combinations that left a welt under Barrera’ right eye.
After unleashing 100 punches in the second round, Pacquiao stepped on the gas in the third. When the two fighters measured up each other near the center of the ring, Pacquiao uncorked a blindingly fast left straight that sent Barrera to the canvas. Visibly shaken but not hurt, the 29-year-old Barrera weathered the rest of the one minute and 11 seconds left in that round.
Heeding the advice from his corner to “wait for him on the outside,” Barrera took a more passive approach in the fourth round, but Pacquiao kept coming anyway, leading off with his stiff right jab and uncorking an impressive array of lefts, rights, hooks and uppercuts.
Riding on the crest of momentum, Pacquiao went for the kill in the fifth round, but the eagerness to close out left him a little wild and reckless, missing 32-of-48 power punches. It was then when Barrera showed a little of his vaunted counter-punching skills, giving some life to what had otherwise been a lifeless pro-Barrera crowd at the Alamodome.
The sixth round followed the trend of earlier rounds. Pacquiao threw 67 to Barrera’s 24 punches, swarming his prey with a two-fisted onslaught of body blows while deftly cutting the ring through effective aggressiveness.
Barrera hit Pacquiao with his best punch of the night, a right flush to the jaw, but Manny didn’t even take a step back, extending his arms sideways as if asking Barrera if that was all he could give.
A nasty cut, one caused by an accidental head butt, opened above Barrera’s left eye in the early moments of the seventh round. The ringside doctor ruled Barrera fit to continue, averting the fight from stopping and being decided through the judges’ scorecards. Barrera held off Pacquiao’s continued advances as the blood that dripped from his wound like a leaking faucet coagulated by itself.
A slugfest ensued in the eighth round as a desperate Barrera, trailing on all cards, realized that a knockout was his only chance. That strategy, however, played right into Pacquiao’s hands and the beating continued.
The ninth round saw Manny getting his second wind. He hounded Barrera even more and as both warriors swung at each other with greater ferocity, the power deficit clearly tilted against Barrera. Pacquiao landed 39 of 95 punches while Barrera managed just 13 of 49.
Frustrated, Barrera nailed Manny with a right hook after a break and the referee ordered a one-point deduction against the Mexican. Two rounds earlier, Barrera was warned for attempted intentional head butting.
After an uneventful 10th round where Barrera seemed just hanging on to last the distance, Pacquiao jumped in the 11th round with specific orders from trainer Freddie Roach to “go for it.” Throwing every conceivable punch he could muster, Pacquiao sent Barrera to the canvas once more. The die was cast.
Barrera, proud and admiringly courageous, gamely wanted to finish the 12-rounder on his feet, but Jorge, his brother who works on Barrera’s corner, tearfully intervened. When the TKO was called, Pacquiao was leading on all scorecards. Two judges saw it 97-90 while a third one had it 97-89.
Barrera said he had “a lot of distraction” coming in, referring to the controversy that arose from his 1997 craniotomy operation and the wildfire in California which forced him to leave Big Bear and disrupt his training. But Barrrea refused to take credit away from Pacquiao saying: “He punches hard. He is a great fighter."
Manny, meanwhile, said he didn’t expect Barrera “to last this long,” considering the punishment he administered. “I’ll fight him again. Anytime, anywhere,” PacMan added.
The rematch can wait, Manny. A proud nation wants you home. A celebration needs to be done.
(November 17, 2003 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
[ return
to top ]
[ home
]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
