By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Renowned cutman Lenny De Jesus claimed yesterday that Manny Pacquiao "didn't lose that fight against Erik Morales, his corner lost the fight." De Jesus who was commended for doing a tremendous job on the nasty gash suffered by Pacquiao due to an accidental headbutt told Manila Standard Today that trainer Freddie Roach "was shaking all over" after Pacquiao suffered the cut and didn't even allow him to take the center spot in the corner "to attend to the bad cut" which was the right thing to do.
In stark contrast De Jesus said the Morales corner was "calm, cool and collected and did the right things."
De Jesus came out in the open to claim that he had "to work around" Filipino trainer Buboy Fernandez and leaned in to attend to Pacquiao's cut. De Jesus lamented " I should have had more leverage, more chance to fix the cut and stop the bleeding. I was kept away to one side by Freddie (Roach)."
The Puerto Rican cutman who has worked in corners for some 40 years said Pacquiao is "still a marketable fighter because fight fans like bloody fights and Manny fought his heart out." De Jesus also criticized Roach for not allowing him to "water down" Pacquiao because "this keeps a fighter fired up but Roach told me Manny didn't like it."
De Jesus said he ignored Roach and "watered down Manny after the eleventh round and it resulted in the best roundb where Manny really got Erik with some beautiful shots" which had the Mexican in trouble.
De Jesus also criticized Roach's tactics of asking Pacquiao to "use the jab and push him over" when he should have told him to "weave and then go to the body" because Morales has a strong chin like most Mexicans but was vulnerable to the body. De Jesus said Pacquiao is "a little Mike Tyson and that should nhave been the strategy."
Commenting on reports of chaos in the corner with Pacquiao's Filipino trainer and longtime friend Buboy Fernandez shouting in Pilipino De Jesus said "that was acceptable for me" pointing out that Fernandez was speaking in his native language and has always been close to Pacquiao.
De Jesus said that unless some real changes are made Pacquiao, no matter how courageous he is, may not be able to beat Morales in a rematch.
