Pacquiao fights poverty, not a friend

By Al S. Mendoza

(Happy birthday today, Sunday, to May Uy, the beautiful wife of Ramon Uy of Bacolod City.)

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I was wrong on two counts.

First, I said Manny Pacquiao will knock Shane Mosley out.

Second, I said Mosley will be too slow he’ll be easily caught by a knockout punch.

Sorry.  My fault.

Let me also say that I forgot altogether that for a boxing match to happen, you need two persons fighting.

On May 8 (ManilaTime), only one, seemingly, wanted to fight: Pacquiao.

Mosley didn’t want to fight.

Can’t blame the guy.

After he got tagged in Round 3 by a smashing right-left combination to the face only the likes of a Pacquiao could dish out, Mosley was never the same again.

Kissing the canvass dazed, glassy-eyed, he struggled to get up. Mosley fought a scared fight from there.

His 18 years of boxing experience had prevailed on him not to test the waters again.

It was a mistake for him doing some probing in the first two rounds.  He was booby-trapped.

Against Pacquiao, it’s landmine every step of the way.

So, after the third-round knockdown, Mosley walked the correct path:  Don’t take chances.  Walk facing traffic.

Against Pacquiao, every move is a risky business.

Don’t be surprised then if you saw Mosley mostly running away from Round 4 onwards.  He was merely eluding harm’s way.

At age 39, Mosley was supposed to be slow.

Yes, he was, but only on throwing punches.  Not only too slow, in fact, but the punches were as rare as roses in bloom during summer.

Pacquiao was also a bit slow this time?

Maybe.  But let me tell you this.

Before the fight, Pacquiao and Mosley did promotional fight tours together.

Closeness can be a contagious disease.  Friends that become too close with each other can ultimately become lovers.

For those not in the know, Pacquiao is inherently a very friendly person.  And merciful at that.

Before the fight, Pacquiao had openly declared his fondness of Mosley.

Mosley reciprocated by saying he’d join Pacquiao in the Philippines when Pacman pursues his vow to kill poverty in the country.  Wearing a yellow T-shirt at that.

Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s American trainer the last 10 years or so, was the first to notice this.

Earlier, Roach had warned Pacquiao about becoming too friendly with his sparring mates.

He aired the warning after noticing Pacquiao’s tendency to be “too soft” on his assault against his sparring mates in the run-up to the Mosley fight.

Now, still surprised why Pacquiao was a bit slow against Mosley?

Or, put in another way, were you that stunned that Pacquiao failed to knock Mosley out?

Sorry, but I was not.

In fact, I’m even beginning to wonder: Did we watch a fight?

Wasn’t Mosley’s foe a mere look-alike of Pacquiao?  An impostor, maybe?

Hit me hard, Pacman.

I need to wake up.

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