By Ronnie Nathanielsz
If Top Rank’s wily promoter Bob Arum is to be believed – and why not because he is an old fox who knows the fight game inside out and is a master on how to hype an event – “The Battle” between Filipino national treasure Manny Pacquiao and legendary Mexican Erik “El Terrible” Morales at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on Sunday is “a fight the sport of boxing can be proud of because it matches the two biggest heroes of two countries.”
It’s a fight that arguably sees a face-off between two of the most exciting fighters today and one that accentuates the woeful heavyweight scene which was for years the dominating division in fight fans attention . Arum, quite correctly, referred to Pacquiao as being a legend in the Philppines and “easily the most popular person, not athlete, not boxer but person, in the country There is not a Filipino in the Philippines or around the world, in the Middle East or the US that doesn’t know who Manny Pacquiao is.”
In the same vein Arum referred to Morales as the “pre-eminent fighter” in Mexico today completely ignoring WBC super featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera who beat Morales twice in three memorable encounters but is somehow not regarded as an exciting fighter in the caliber of Pacquiao who annihilated him in November 2004 and even Morales who actually didn’t want to fight Barrera a third time but eventually did and lost a controversial decision in a fight that some thought Morales should have won.
Arum noted that everybody in Mexico “and that means almost everybody, follows boxing, and Erik is Mexico’s most popular fighter. That’s why this fight has tremendous significance. We all remember that first fight with the flags of the Philippines and Mexico waving in the arena as the battle went on. It was a thrilling, thrilling experience. It will be equally as exciting if not more so.”
There are times when rematches fail to live up to the hype or the excitement of an original encounter but most boxing experts believe that the fundamental styles of Pacquiao and Morales and their inner qualities of courage will help make the rematch even more memorable than the original. Besides, both men have something to prove in the ring.
HBO vice president Mark Taffet added to the hype by referring to their first meeting as “a fight fans fight” and reflecting on the fact that when the best fight the best “not only are expectations high but there are no losers.” The stark reality however is that should Pacquiao lose, which most Filipinos at this point believe is next to impossible, then the
biggest loser would be the country which has been primed to the thought that the “Pacman” is almost invincible, at least in this rematch. Beyond that the sport of boxing in the Philippines which has been given an unprecedented boost by Pacquiao who has opened the doors and the vaults of American promoters for other rising young Filipino fighters to step in and be part of the action, may be affected.
This is not necessarily so since, as staunch Pacquiao supporter Manila Mayor Lito Atienza so correctly points out, Pacquiao has revived the world’s respect and admiration for the Filipino and this will ensure a future for Filipino fighters.
Before Pacquiao made his mark and captured the imagination of millions of fight fans “the Filipino was forgotten and sidelined but when Manny came along we regained our respect” said Atienza. Pacquiao blazed a trail and today fighters like WBO Asia Pacific bantamweight champion Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista, OPBF No.1 and world rated super flyweight Z “The Dream” Gorres, WBO Asian Pacific junior lightweight champion Czar Amonsot, WBC No. 1 flyweight Diosdado Gabi who has been astutely handled and cared for by well known California boxing man Michael Koncz and others, all of whom have benefited immensely from Pacquiao's sensational performances.
Well known boxing commentator and host James Smith of the weekly syndicated TV show “In This Corner” said he would have wished a return to 15 rounds in championship fights because he would have wanted Pacquiao and Morales to continue their unrelenting saga in the first fight when Pacquiao came back ferociously in the final round and had Morales in trouble although the Mexican who switched to a southpaw stance for much of the twelfth round and nearly paid the price, also got in some hard shots.
As Taffet maintained boxing fans “can watch these guys fight over and over again because they only know how to fight one way and that’s at each other…an action fight that fans respect so much.”
When Pacquiao and Morales get it on this Sunday a nation will stand still. Streets will be largely deserted and families, friends and hero-worshippers will crowd into PPV theaters or around their TV sets tuned into ABS-CBN Channel 2 or Solar Sports to see their hero in action.
Pacquiao’s mother Dionisia, a very religious lady will, as usual, go to Church early in their hometown of General Santos City, light some candles, get down on her knees and pray like never before for her gallant son just like millions of other Filipinos to whom Pacquiao represents the skill, the indomitable courage and the hopes of a nation longing for genuine heroes.
Editor's Note:
BoxingScene.com's Ronnie Nathanielsz covered Manny Pacquiao's career from the time of his third professional fight on the Vintage Sports weekly boxing show "Blow by Blow" when Pacquiao was just 16 years old all the way to his winning - and losing - the WBC flyweight title, capturing the IBF junior featherweight crown and ending with Viva Sports coverage of the Emmanuel Lucero fight.
He was at special ringside for the first Pacquiao-Morales showdown "Coming With Everything" and still maintains his close friendship with Pacquiao, trainer Freddie Roach and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum whom he first met in Manila in 1975 when Nathanielsz served as liaison officer for Muhammad Ali in the "Thrilla in Manila."
