Rep. Manny Pacquiao waves to crowd after defeatingSugar Shane Mosley via unanimous decision.
(Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Restaurants, bars and cinemas were packed for this boxing event which I'm sure some who are not fans of the sport couldn't resist watching it -- as long as Cong. Manny Pacquiao is in the fight that is. The whole world was witness to it all yet again and the Fighting Pride of the Philippines didn't disappoint -- for some at least.
A lot of people were saying that (Shane) Mosley's gonna get KO'd in the 6th or 7th round while some say Manny is gonna win by unanimous decision. A lot of opinions/predictions here and there but one thing is for sure though -- Pacman is definitely gonna defeat Mosley, period.
Manny Pacquiao walks away as Shane Mosley tries to figure out what hit him.(Gabriel Bouys/AFP)
I didn't bother watching the undercard fights although I did got a glimpse of the Arce-Vasquez Super Bantamweight title match when I entered the cinema at the Alabang Town Center. Good thing it was the last undercard before the main event and got there just in time. I didn't get to finish the Celtics-Heat game (The C's were already leading the Heat in the 2nd half when I left the house) at the time as I didn't wanna miss Manny's fight.
It was cool of Manny to wear yellow gloves. He mentioned in a press conference prior to the fight that the color symbolizes unity and his advocacy to end poverty in the Philippines. I only saw a few fans wearing yellow shirts as most of the patrons in the cinema were rocking Manny's Nike shirts -- myself included.
Charice Pempengco sang "Lupang Hinirang," the Philippines' national anthem first. I think she did it right. She didn't botch the song in the end. Thank goodness. Next up was Tyrese Gibson who sang the US national anthem "Star Spangled Banner" while Jamie Foxx sang "America The Beautiful."
The fighters' entrance seemed like that of the WWE's. LL Cool J did a rap for Sugar Shane Mosley's entrance while had former Survivor lead singer Jimi Jamison sang "Eye of the Tiger" for Manny Pacquiao. I must admit that song never gets old. I'm not a fan of the band but I do remember listening to it when I was in grade school.
I'm just pissed that Michael Buffer wasn't the ring announcer for this particular fight fest. Round 1 was almost always the round that fighters tend to figure out each other before they REALLY trade punches. At least right in the middle of the 1st round the fight started to heat up.
The 2nd round had Mosley building momentum but Manny's still cool though. He kept trading punches with Sugar Shane till the end of the round.
Then came the third round, both fighters traded blows until Manny decked Shane with a 2-punch combination (right straight and left hook). Mosley hit the canvass with a surprised look on his face as if he didn't know what hit him before he finally got up. Everybody thought it was all gonna end in the 3rd round. Seemed like Manny wanted to end it but Shane got scared at started to go on defensive to save himself from utmost embarrassment.
While I respect Shane Mosley for being one of the best fighters in boxing, I've never seen him in that situation. Seriously. He's the type of boxer who loves to go toe-to-toe with his opponents but was a first for him. He kept his distance from Pacquiao for most of the fight. When Pacman got close, he'd just wrap him up to avoid a flurry of Manny's punches and at the same time throw a few cheap shots while he's at it.
Fast-forward to the 10th round, it was a cat and mouse thing of sorts. Shane wraps up Manny right in the middle of the ring. A few seconds later Mosley literally pushes Pacman sending him down to the canvass. Manny got up quickly until he got counted up by the referee giving knock-down credit to Shane. A very controversial call which obviously a hard push by Mosley. That fired him up for the 11th round.
As soon as the bell rang, Pacman was on the offensive as he wanted to knock Shane's teeth down his throat. Pretty sure Mosley sensed it, he started running away (again) and wanted no part of the Fighting Congressman's fists. Pacquiao literally chased him all over the ring and was really looking to knock him out.
When Paris met Manny and Jinkee Pacquiao.(Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
I hate to say this but Shane Mosley wasn't man enough to trade blows with Manny till the end -- even though he knew he was losing. Manny now has the ability to scare the crap out his opponents. That is something new.
All Mosley had to do was survive the whole match -- that's it. The 12th round didn't matter though as it was the same old thing anyway. After the final bell rang, everybody knew who won the fight. I can't blame Manny for being disappointed because he somewhat expected the 39 year old veteran to give his all and mix it up with him.
For sure I'm not the only one that was disappointed with the fight. Manny won by unanimous decision and successfully defended his WBO Welterweight Championship by the way. The only consolation for fight fans out there that Manny Pacquiao was able to KO Shane Mosley even for brief moment. For Mosley's part, that should leave a bitter taste in his mouth of sorts.
Now that it's all over, his next fight will be on November. Word has it that Juan Manuel Marquez will be his next opponent. While I'm not sold on that match, I'm still hoping he'd face Floyd Mayweather Jr. instead (please Mr. Arum make it happen).
In case y'all missed it, Paris Hilton met with Manny Pacquiao (with his wife Jinkee) and says she'll be visiting the Philippines soon. That would be awesome and for sure the paparazzi will be right behind her when she does come here. Give Manny some credit for that.
As we wait for a few months for his next fight, I guess it doesn't matter whether or not the people were indeed satisfied with the Pacquiao-Mosley slugfest.
A win is still a win nonetheless. The people were united once again and the whole world knows.
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