Tuesday, July 01, 2008 Quijano: Not pound-for-pound king by default By Jingo Quijano Last Round
IT WAS was actually a hybrid—a marriage of sorts between a left straight and a hook that landed on David Diaz’ jaw like a ton of bricks, which abruptly ended a fight that was so lopsided, it arguably should have been stopped sooner.
Durable as he was, Diaz was finally taken down by a punch he admittedly never saw. But frankly, even if he did, I don’t see if there was anything much he could have done to avoid it.
POINTLESS. Diaz must have a gang of sadists masquerading as corner men. With blood streaming down his face, turning it into a hideous, grotesque mask as early as the fourth round, I think his corner did a bad job of making sure their fighter’s health was protected.
I mean, the guy was bleeding all over his face and couldn’t even see Manny’s punches anymore.
I personally thought his corner should have thrown in the towel in the seventh round. Manny was so superior in every aspect there was just no way Diaz could have won the fight at that point.
Hopelessly behind on points in a fight that was not even competitive, making their man go out for another senseless beating round after round was just pitifully pointless.
Diaz might have insisted he still wanted to go out and fight, but a corner man’s concern first and foremost should be the safety of his fighter.
(Apparently, two judges scored the second round 10-8 for Manny, and so Diaz was hopelessly behind by 7 points on two scorecards during the seventh. Theoretically, even if he won the remaining six based on a standard 10-9 score, he could not even hope for a tie, unless of course he scored a knockdown, which was highly unlikely.)
Had Diaz won a round or two there would probably be a modicum of an argument for the fight to continue. But he was never really in the fight as even in the first round, his disadvantages in speed and technique were quite apparent.
No truth to the rumor that the Diaz camp forgot to examine Manny’s gloves at the dugout and thereby failed to discover those razor blades cleverly sewn inside them.
How else could you explain those slashing cuts on Diaz’ face?
NOT ANYMORE BY DEFAULT. My law school classmate, Atty. Negley Tabucanon-Villanueva has been among those bitten by the boxing bug, and so she shot me a query.
Apparently, Negley who by the way also plays devoted wife to hubby Edmund and doting mom to cherubs Francesca and Edmund Paolo, was wondering what the term “pound-for-pound champion” meant.
The term actually refers to a mythical ranking of boxing’s best fighters. Since boxing is a sport divided into several weight classes or categories, some of the finest fighters could never meet in a match in order to determine who is the best.
Hence, fans are often just left to their musings about what it would be like if they actually met.
The pound-for-pound rankings address that concern. It lists the top 10 fighters regardless of weight class, based on several factors such as fight record, skills, etc.
It is unofficial and highly subjective and so many boxing magazines and websites have their own pound-for-pound lists.
In Manny’s case, he was No. 2 on most lists (including the Last Round) before the Diaz fight. And when pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired, he became the top fighter by default.
But not anymore.
His demolition of WBC lightweight champion Diaz demonstrates how good a fighter he is and that he can move seamlessly between weight classes and prove he can be just as dominant. Truly, he has legitimately become the sport’s best pound for pound fighter
THE LAST ROUND. It’s on my hard-working kumpare, Stephen Villamor who turns a year older but happier this week. Cheers!
