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Pac’s performance in this fight is slept on. Re-watching it, it’s absolutely spectacular. Honestly, I just sat there marveling at it.
I mean, viewing it at the time, it felt surreal - a midget LW doing this to DLH. It was hard to look past the fact that Pac took advantage of an Oscar who looked like a shriveled ball sack, and fought like one. The main historical significance of the fight was that it propelled Manny to super-stardom. I didn’t really rank it as a great win (didn’t even re-watch it until last night).
But then you think – well, that wasn’t a fluke performance. Pac has proven himself to be an excellent WW, really damn good. He’s run through Cotto, Margs, Clottey and Mosley. Even if DLH was healthier, the same DLH that fought Floyd/Forbes had turned up, Pac would have destroyed him.
I know, I know……good fighters should look spectacular against fighters who are not on their level. Look at Kessler when he’s not facing elite opposition.
But seriously, it’s a joy watching Pac in this fight. Beautiful in and out movement, great footwork, his defence was superb that night (probably cos he was so wary of Oscar’s power), head movement was first class. Seriously, I think this is as close to a peak Pac as you’ll get it.
And now, I think the significance of this fight was that it forced Pac to add new dimensions to his game, and move away from an over-reliance on brawling. He’s fighting on the backfoot, he’s thinking about his defence, he’s using his feet so brilliantly, he’s relying as much on tactics as much his raw physical gifts.
It’s an awesome performance. That’s how you deal with someone who’s not at your level (as Oscar obviously wasn’t at that time). Classic ass whooping
I mean, viewing it at the time, it felt surreal - a midget LW doing this to DLH. It was hard to look past the fact that Pac took advantage of an Oscar who looked like a shriveled ball sack, and fought like one. The main historical significance of the fight was that it propelled Manny to super-stardom. I didn’t really rank it as a great win (didn’t even re-watch it until last night).
But then you think – well, that wasn’t a fluke performance. Pac has proven himself to be an excellent WW, really damn good. He’s run through Cotto, Margs, Clottey and Mosley. Even if DLH was healthier, the same DLH that fought Floyd/Forbes had turned up, Pac would have destroyed him.
I know, I know……good fighters should look spectacular against fighters who are not on their level. Look at Kessler when he’s not facing elite opposition.
But seriously, it’s a joy watching Pac in this fight. Beautiful in and out movement, great footwork, his defence was superb that night (probably cos he was so wary of Oscar’s power), head movement was first class. Seriously, I think this is as close to a peak Pac as you’ll get it.
And now, I think the significance of this fight was that it forced Pac to add new dimensions to his game, and move away from an over-reliance on brawling. He’s fighting on the backfoot, he’s thinking about his defence, he’s using his feet so brilliantly, he’s relying as much on tactics as much his raw physical gifts.
It’s an awesome performance. That’s how you deal with someone who’s not at your level (as Oscar obviously wasn’t at that time). Classic ass whooping
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