The Filipino who conquered Mexico

And so… Pacquiao scored another win… though some are not happy about the way he won. The Filipino people have gotten used to knockout wins by the peoples champ. There are a lot of possible reasons he was not able to deliver the devastating blow to Barrera’s career and here are some;

• Pacquiao was obviously overweight before the weigh-in prompting him to still workout and reduce food intake unlike Barrera. This definitely affected Pacquiao’s knockout power although his stamina in all 12 rounds is superb.

• In their first fight, Manny was able to floor Barrera many times in the early rounds and finally downing him in the 11th round. In their second outing, Barrera could have been knocked out if not for the cheap shot in the 11th round while the referee is separating the two fighters. Pacquiao obviously hurt and shaken was not able to do a follow-up assault buying Barrera time to recoup.

• My Dad though… has his own theory. I don’t know if his eyes are already failing him but he believes Pacquiao’s gloves were thick. Meaning he was really overweight during the weigh-in but the promoters according to my Dad kept it a secret and instead penalized Pacquiao with padded gloves. Which resulted to softer than usual blows by Pacquiao. Sounds extreme but I chose not to argue with the guy who religiously followed Pacquiao’s career even in his Blow-by-Blow days.

• The really sound explanation is due to Barrera’s conditioning and tactics as evident in his footwork always gearing away from Pacquiao’s southpaw stance. He definitely wants to finish the bout and retire standing on his two feet. But should the fight go on, Pacquiao would have ripped his face! Babyface assassin no more…

Here are other updates with Pacquiao. Before the fight, he was reported to be moving to the lightweight division because of the difficulty he encountered in trimming his weight. Then, after the fight, Pacquiao is now open to fighting in two weight divisions and would really like to face Edwin Valero. The latter is the sparring mate of Barrera and has been itching ever since for a fight with Pacquiao. Barrera claimed Valero is capable of beating Pacquiao, a thought he made public during the post fight conference.

Each of Pacquiao’s fight is a fight for survival and respect. He can’t afford to lose at this stage in his career… although he’s already rich and retirement seems logical. But warriors like Pacquiao have a destiny to fulfill, before he retires, he must reach the ultimate reward of being a legitimate world champion.