Tuesday, August 21, 2007 Quijano: World Cup hangover part two By Jingo Quijano Last Round
AT ANOTHER press conference at the Cebu City Marriott Hotel, this time organized by the prolific Rex “Wakee” Salud for Gerry Peñalosa and graced by Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach, the following were unearthed:
1.) Gerry credits his renewed hunger to become a world champion once more, as a major factor in his victory;
2.) Were it completely up to him, Gerry would definitely love to have one more dance with Ponce de Leon;
3.) Coach Roach doesn’t think the change in scenario will affect Manny Pacquiao that much;
4.) Freddie Roach credits us Filipinos for honing his texting skills;
5.) Our able emcee, Cebu City Councilor Jack Jakosalem did not mean to “snub” the press conference the other day. As a good and devout father to his four year-old son “Basty” and 6-month-old baby “Santino”, he had to share babysitting duties with lovely wife Sharon that evening;
6.) Mrs. Pacquiao and Mrs. Peñalosa, are quite easy on the eyes. My fellow columnist John Pages and I had a photo op with these two lovely ladies. (No truth to the rumor that Gerry and Manny turned green with envy);
7.) The highly contagious bulging-belly syndrome currently afflicting numerous members of the media basketball team was tagged as the culprit for their dismal performance against Manny’s team.
8.) Manny hardly ate anything during the press conference as he was scheduled to spar immediately after;
9.) It was quite fine with us as the media people assumed the role of a “Pacman” and devoured everything in sight;
10.) Of course, sportswriters and reporters once again demonstrated their sponge-like qualities when it came to drinking beer that evening at Yayoy’s Grill, which is owned by Cebu City Councilor “Yayoy” Alcoseba;
SIDE BY SIDE. Watching these two great champions seated beside each other, I could not help but wonder what it was that separated them from the rest of the pack. Both of them had been to the top, lost their footing, yet found their way back again. At present, they are not just boxing champions anymore, they have reached mythic, iconic status.
Manny won the WBC flyweight belt at the tender age of 20 but was knocked out three fights later due to weight problems.
Gerry won the WBC super flyweight belt in 1997 when he was 25 years old, but lost it to fleet footed In Joo Cho two fights later.
How were they able to claw their way back to the top?
Then it hit me like a Pacquiao straight left.
No, it’s not talent. Talent is cheap. A lot of people have it but choose to waste it. You see it everyday.
Heart…Skills…Chin…..These are staples if you want to become a champion.
But to reach immortality, I realized that Gerry and Manny both had to reinvent themselves. They had to adapt and learn something new.
Manny is not anymore the brawler that he once was. Under Freddie Roach’s tutelage, he blossomed into an all-around fighter, with excellent offensive and defensive skills. His power will always be there, but that is not all he relies on in order to win fights.
Ditto with Gerry. He became a world champion by virtue of his superb boxing and counter-punching skills. Somehow, it wasn’t good enough to beat the likes of Cho and Masomori Tokuyama who both ran their way to victory.
In that fateful night with Johnny Gonzales, Gerry knew that Gonzales would employ the same strategy and so he knew he had to be aggressive.
He turned puncher.
A no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners kind of puncher. He hunted him down, took his licks, but pounded him from pillar to post.
A puncher who needed only one punch to end matters.
What a transformation.
Now, that’s the stuff of legend.
THE LAST ROUND. It’s on another legend, my Latagaw brod Al Coloyan who recently celebrated his birthday. Cheers tol!
