Pacquiao to win in 3, if not 7

By Al S. Mendoza

DID Manny Pacquiao win?

I ask because some of you, if not many of you, may already know it – today, May 3, being the day Pacquiao is scheduled to face Ricky Hatton for the IBO light welterweight crown in Las Vegas, Nevada.

I wrote this in advance for deadline purposes.

So, again: Did Pacquiao win? Or did he lose?

If he won, then my prediction came true.

Of course, almost everybody had predicted Pacquiao would win. By knockout.

I did, too.

I said if Pacquiao failed to finish Hatton in three, he’d do it in seven.

The betting in Las Vegas, three days before the fight, was, a bet of $100 for Hatton would fetch $275.

Your $250 for Pacquiao would earn a mere $100.

Someone had wagered P40,000 for Pacquiao to win P10,000.

My own brother was almost tempted to call it.

Ten thousand is a lot of money. And P40k is even bigger.

But the non-gambler in him prevailed. Ten thousand will always be hard-earned money, no matter if, in all probability, it can fetch P40k.

Hatton is good but history tells us that betting against Pacquiao after the Pacman had beaten Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003 has become as risky as riding a Visayan-bound ship even on a clear day.

So, only a fool would have picked Hatton to win?

Not really.

If the odds were that huge, sometimes, it pays to bet on the underdog, as in the case of Hatton. They call it, “For the money.”

I was for Pacquiao all the way. However, had someone tossed in P100k against my P10k for Hatton, why, I would have taken it – with my eyes closed, of course.

For the money, bebe.

I’d have considered it not a foolish decision but a sound one.

Trouble is, there was no P100k.

You see, P100k would have been just too hard to resist. I’d call it and next use the old boxer’s dictum that every fighter has a chance to win to justify my decision.

Yes, each fighter has two fists, and every fighter has a knockout punch.

Show me a seasoned, battle-scarred fighter – even the lousiest in the world – who has not scored a single knockout victory in his career.

If you can produce one, I’ll go to church naked from the waist down.

In short, every prizefighter has a fair shot at fame as anyone else, Hatton included. The Hitman from Britain has a brilliant 45-1-0, win-loss-draw record – and all 45 wins were in the 140-pound division which he will defend today against Pacquiao.

But still, after having said all that, I believe Pacquiao will prevail – if he hasn’t yet.

Pacquiao, 48-3-2 (36 KOs), is simply too fast, too skillful, and equally strong.

In pre-fight blasts, Hatton kept saying he is stronger than Pacquiao. The Hitman said his punching power would make Pacquiao his 33rd knockout victim.

That’s hard to believe, of course.

As I also keep saying here, when Pacquiao is in tip-top shape, he is almost invincible.

Today, I guess he is – again.

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