Thursday, April 19, 2007 Maxey: Doomed at the dome By Ram Maxey Bar None
THE lights at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas dimmed, except for those that lit up the ring, which stood in the center of the cavernous structure, homecourt of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
But this was not basketball night. The listless capacity crowd of 12,000 waited for the main event of the Blaze of Glory boxing extravaganza to begin: The much-awaited and hyped-up title clash between WBC international superfeatherweight champion Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, 28, of the Philippines and challenger Jorge Solis, 27, of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Then a burst of pyrotechnics over at one end of the domed stadium signaled the dramatic entrance of the enigmatic challenger. Solis, with a daunting record of 32 wins, 23 coming by way of knockout, and no defeats, emerged from his dressing room to the loud cheers of his countrymen. Smiling broadly at the sight and sound of fellow-Mexicans, Solis looked buoyed up by all the words of encouragement he was getting from both sides of the crowded aisle as he made his way exchanging high-fives left and right.
Then the brightly lit ring came into view and the Mexican fighter's mien changed abruptly, the blood seemed to drain from his face momentarily, and the smile was gone. I wondered what was going through his mind. Did the sight of the ring remind him for the first time of an execution chamber instead of the various arenas where he had defeated 32 other fighters and reached the apex of his glorious career as a prizefighter who hadn't lost a single bout?
Still, Jorge Solis had a mission. He had to prove to his detractors that his victories in the ring came against worthy opponents and that his unblemished record was not a fluke. Still ringing in his ears were the doubts of boxing experts who had pointed out that not one of his 32 victims were in the class of a Marco Antonio Barrera, or an Erik Morales, or a Juan Manuel Marquez. All these and other fellow-Mexican fighters had failed to beat the best fighter, pound for pound, in the world today: Filipino Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao -- he who "eats" Mexicans for breakfast.
Fast forward. Pacquiao did not press the issue in the first few rounds unlike in his previous fights. Either he was wary of Solis's 32-0 record and decided to feel him out before doing his usual stuff, or he knew he could take out the Mexican anytime and opted to give the fans a good show, as he had earlier promised, by prolonging the inevitable.
Solis was clearly intimidated by the Filipino's reputation and was more concerned about eluding Manny's vaunted left straights and thunderous right hooks and trying to survive than winning the fight. Instead of taking advantage of his longer reach, he took empty swipes at Manny's midsection, missing by inches. He opted to keep at a safe distance and out of harm's way. But not for long.
When in the sixth round an accidental head butt opened a cut below Manny's left eyebrow, giving the Filipino visions of his bloody loss to Morales in their first fight, Pacquiao stopped fooling around and went to work in earnest in the seventh round which Solis survived. But in the eighth round Pacquiao finally caught up with the constantly retreating Mexican and knocked him down for an eight-count. When Solis rose to his feet a bit wobbly, Pacquiao sent him back to the canvas for the full count with another flurry of punches. The "execution" was complete.
The fighter from Guadalajara, Mexico had lost for the first time.
