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MetroVanIndependent.com
May 2015
Sports
Mayweather shows Pacquiao who's the boss
By Alex P. Vidal
LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The statistics
can't lie. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (48-0,
26 KOs) outshattled and outslugged the
tentative Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs).
Mayweather Jr. outlanded Pacquiao
148 to 81.
The unbeaten American, now the WBO/
WBC/WBA 147-lb ruler, also released more
punches, 435 to 429, far cry from Pacquiao
lesser-hyped fights in the past where he
threw punches by the volumes and didn't
provide his opponents a room to breathe.
As the bout progressed, witnessed by
a sellout crowd in the MGM Grand Arena,
Pacquiao punches came like rain drops
in the Mojave Desert and couldn't knock
the petal off the daffodil. As if the 118-110,
116-112, 116-112 conquest wasn't enough,
punch statistics showed the dominant
world welterweight king connected 81
power punches as compared to Pacquiao
63.
Sixty eight percent of Mayweather's
48 power punches saw their marks on
Pacquiao face and body in the 12-round
championship set.
Based on the work rate of both fighters,
there was no way for Pacquiao to win even
if the bout was stretched to 15 rounds.
Mayweather played by the books as a
scientific fighter. His style of backpedaling
but peppering the Filipino customer with
crisp jabs infuriated a lot of Pacquiao fans,
but experts agreed with Mayweather's
strategy that turned out to be his key to
victory.
T he 38 -year- old hamme r-fiste d
resident of Las Vegas showed excellent
ring generalship with his fast hands and
powerful shots that connected with alacrity
and dispatch.
As early in the 7th round, Team
Mayweather may have smelled victory
when Pacquiao could not penetrate
Mayweather Jr's solid defense in the head
down to the breadbasket.
People’s champ Manny Pacquiao delivers a right jab to the body of an open-wide Floyd Mayweather during the heated blow-by-blow action last May 2 at the
MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank
Pacquiao tried to launch a desperate
attack in the last four stanzas hoping to
cash in on Mayweather's temerity to slide
from one direction to another to avoid
Pacquiao’s lethal blows, but couldn't
connect the haymakers that could change
the picture of the bout.
From the 8th to the final bell, it became
a Punch and Judy show with Mayweather
controlling the fight and landing jabs that
befuddled Pacquiao.
The prizefighter-cum-congressman
from Sarangani Province in Mindanao
thought he won the fight, but after being
showed the punch statistics w here he
lagged behind in power punches, he
offered a "shoulder injury" as an excuse.
Rey Golinggan, Pacquiao wedding
godfather and spiritual adviser since the
boxer was just a skinny light-flyweight
curtain raiser, called the loss to Mayweather
as "only one of the series of bad lucks" that
have befallen the once mighty atom known
as Kid Kulafu in his amateur days.
"Before the fight, I asked Pacquiao
if there was a chance that we could still
go back to what we used to do (praying
a rosary) before his fights, he answered
me that when he pray, he is now praying
direct to the Lord -- meaning Mother Mary
has no more place in his heart," sobbed
the 73-year-old Golinggan, a businessman
and owner of the gym in General Santos
City where Pacquiao first revved up as a
simonpure in the early 90s.
"Since Pacquiao stopped wearing the
rosary and since we stopped praying for
Mother Mary, he lost to Timothy Bradley
and Juan Manuel Marquez," he added.
Golinggan said when Pacquiao
rebounded with a 12-round unanimous
verdict win against Brandon Rios in Macau
in 2013, “Pacquiao went home only to be
hounded with a P2.5 billion tax evasion
lawsuit."
There was also reportedly a bad blood
that developed between Fr. Marlon Beof,
who regularly host a Catholic mass for
Pacquiao, and the boxer's new friend, born
again Pastor Eli Soriano.
Pacquiao still has until 2016 to fulfill his
contractual obligation with the Top Rank.
The loss to Mayweather may not be his
farewell bout.
Pacquiao-Mayweather bout, a blockbuster in Vancouver
By Alex Mino
No doubt at this time millions of people
around the globe was disappointed with
the result of the mega buck fight of the
century.
But despite all the negative impressions
that burst out in the last thir ty-six
hours, it was arguably a big hit among
Vancouverites.
Publicity leading to the May 2 fight of
a lifetime was all spread out from print
to radio and television, where some
newscasters are debating and cheering
for the two protagonists.
Even in numerous stalls in the mall,
specifically Metropolis in Burnaby is
selling shirts with the face of Pacquiao and
Mayweather printed on it.
The fisticuffs that generates 400 million
in revenue undeniably lived up to the hype
among people in Lower Mainland, not only
Filipinos but homegrown Canadians as well
who suddenly became vocal in expressing
their interest to watch the ‘larger than life’
slugfest of this generation.
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