Dionesia Pacquiao prays for the safety of her son before Manny goes in the ring May 2 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. PHOTO BY ESTHER LIN/SHOWTIME
LAS VEGAS — Did the “Fight of the Century” live up to the hype? Pacquiao’s mother has a straight answer.
“Wa’y lami ilang fight, gitikasan nila akong anak [The fight was bland; they cheated my son],” a furious Dionesia Pacquiao told Manila Mail Sunday night during a chance meeting with this writer at a highway deli in Ghost Town, Calif.
“Kami tanan gatuo nga si Manny gyud ang naka-daug pero kay teritoryo man lagi ni Floyd ang Las Vegas, mao nga siya ang gipaboran modaug. Ang judges, ang referee pati ang ga-interview kay Manny after sa fight, hilas ra ba kaayo—tanan sila puro kay Floyd [All of us believe that it was Manny who won, but Las Vegas is Floyd’s territory and that’s why he was favored. The judges, the referee, even the person who interviewed Manny after the fight—they were so arrogant. All of them favored Floyd].”
Inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena on fight night, the audience’s cheers and applause each time Manny Pacquiao scored were thunderous. In the Philippines and around the world, millions rooted for the charismatic and God-fearing prizefighter.
But without a knockout, the decision on who was the night’s better boxer belonged to the three judges. Their unanimous choice was Floyd “Money”Mayweather with an overall score of 116-112.
Though most critics agreed that Mayweather had an advantage given his reach and much bigger physical built than the “Pac-Man,” still many were repelled by the undefeated fighter’s outright arrogance. The rest felt neutral about the boxer’s background, noting that boxing is a blood sport meant to entertain an audience.
Some conspiracy theories now surround the controversial win of undefeated champion Mayweather Jr. Many fans, Filipinos or not, believe the night belonged to Pacquiao. When interviewed in the ring, the Philippine congressman himself said he thought he had won the match.
“I thought I won ‘cause I’ve hurt him many times,” Pacquiao reiterated during the post-fight press conference late Saturday evening. Despite a shoulder injury and the stunning loss, he looked unperturbed and was all smiles as he faced the media.
PH Media weigh in
In an informal poll among Manila-based media who covered the fight, most of whom had seen Pacquiao’s performance since the early 2000s, Manila Mail gathered unanimous feedback: The decision favoring Mayweather was justified.
Irish Eden Belleza, a reporter from Gulf News TV who flew in from Dubai, found the judges’ final scores credible though somewhat bloated.
“I agree na panalo siya (Mayweather) pero parang bloated yung figures. Para sa akin, hindi dapat ganun kalaki yung scores niya. Para siguro sure na walang magko-contest [I agree that Mayweather won but the figures look bloated. His scores shouldn’t have been that high. Maybe they were trying to prevent anyone from contesting the results].I believe Manny had a chance to knock Floyd out during the early rounds, sana hindi niya binigyan ng chance si Floyd na makapag-isip [he shouldn’t have given Floyd a chance to think].”
Wanted: More aggression
Belleza said Pacquiao could have been more aggressive.
GMA 7 broadcaster Jessica Soho also noted that Mayweather put up a pretty good defense.
“Pacquiao did his best especially during the 3rd and 4th rounds,” said the Philippines-based journalist, who admitted she’s not a boxing expert or a fan of boxing. “But this is something that I need to cover because Pacquiao is Pacquiao for us Filipinos. And like everyone else in the Philippines, I am sad that he did not win.”
Jannelle So, TV5 reporter, said she agreed with the judges’ decision.
“There was nothing that Manny could do. He was trying to be more accurate with his punches, but sadly that cost him the number of punches that he threw.”
She was a bit disappointed that Pacquiao did not live up to people’s expectations as the challenger.
“I got the compubox here and the numbers don’t lie,” So said. “Manny could have been more aggressive, but it’s just that Mayweather was very smart tonight. He threw more punches and he was more aggressive than normal and he was very accurate with his punches.”
Slick factor
The difference in height and reach also became a factor.
“Mayweather was just too slick,” So added. “Throughout the fight, Manny tried to corner him by the ropes and Floyd just rolled over. Everyone was concentrating on Floyd’s defense, which is the shoulder rolls but we hardly saw it tonight. What happened was he put his foot forward, combined with his leg that made him look longer. Manny, who’s a brawler, can only connect if he goes in. But because Floyd’s stance is wider and his reach is longer, Manny couldn’t go in.”
Score cards showed fluctuating ratings for Pacquiao from the start of Round 1 till the end of Round 12.
“It took a while for Manny to warm up yet even after he warmed up, you would think that he’s got momentum but then the following round will be a Floyd Mayweather round. It made for a boring fight, but I guess that’s his strategy,” said the L.A.-based Fil-Am reporter who has been covering Manny’s U.S. fights since 2001.
GMA 7 sportscaster Mark Zambrano, a friend of Pacquiao, also agreed with the unanimous decision of the judges, except the 118-110 score by Dave Moretti. “That was just too far, 116-112 was how I scored it myself,” he told Manila Mail.
Zambrano also attributed Mayweather’s speed as a major problem for the “Pac-Man.”
“Manny prepared for this during the training camp—I was there, I covered the whole training camp. But Floyd is just too fast and too slippery for Manny. Not to mention, Floyd took advantage of his reach—we’re talking about an almost 10-inch reach advantage.”
Additionally, Pacquiao lost his rhythm every time Mayweather jabbed. “That was the complexion of the entire fight. Sadly, each time that happens, Floyd scores,” Zambrano said.
The GMA 7 sportscaster spent more than a month in Los Angeles and Las Vegas to cover this mega-fight.
“Before this fight, Manny said he would be a volume puncher, that he would throw more punches than his previous fights. We didn’t see any solid na tama [hit], hindi siya maka-tama dahil sa maneuvering ni Floyd [he couldn’t connect because of Floyd’s maneuvering].”
Wrong move?
Was it a wrong move to pursue this fight with Mayweather?
“There is no logical fighter in the world that would come close to Manny Pacquiao’s level, so I think now is the right time. I think Floyd is the most logical opponent for Manny at this stage of his career.”
Last Saturday’s defense made this evident.
“Floyd was brilliant in his defense and Manny had a hard time hitting him,” said Ritz Mazon Craves, U.S. correspondent of PhilBoxing, an authority on boxing news in the Philippines.
“As a Filipino, I feel for the Philippines. I know they’re sad, I know that they wanted Manny to win so bad and they did not appreciate Floyd’s tactics in the ring.”
MayPac PH anthem singer Gail Banawis from Bronx, New York wears an Oliver Tolentino Gown; earrings by Ramona Haar; hair and makeup by Nemi Rafanan. PHOTO BY ELTON LUGAY.
Like most reporters, Craves also thought prior to fight night that MayPac would at least be a toss-up fight.
“I think it’s 60-40 in favor of Floyd, just because Floyd is unbeaten. Manny has been beaten in the past. Floyd’s been doing this for a long time and he has an unblemished record. He has adapted well against any tactics of his opponent. And it’s the same story tonight.”
On Monday, Top Rank issued an official joint statement from Team Pacquiao and Top Rank, the secondary promoter of the MayPac bout.
The statement revealed that during training, Pacquiao suffered a right shoulder injury. But with a green light from his doctors and advisors, the Filipino champ could proceed with the training and fight as scheduled.
Not in his element for the historic bout with Mayweather, Pacquiao did not exude the ferocity his fans had gotten used to. Nevertheless, last Saturday’s loss made the “People’s Champ” US$110 million richer.
“He did not lose bad, he tried gallantly and that is appreciated by his fans the world over,” Craves concluded.
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