Manny, Money, Manny. “Lots of money. It’s a rich man’s world.” Recognize the revised lyrics of this song? Hope the age gap isn’t obvious, but it’s so fitting for today’s celebration. Mother’s Day? Yes, Mandaue Fiesta? Yes to that, too. But I’m afraid we’ll be celebrating another big feast today. Yes, it’s obviously Pacquiao Day.
The Pacman is going to further cement his place in boxing and sports history today as he defeats Sugar Shane Mosley in Las Vegas. So much has been said but there ironically never seems to be enough to say, is there? For Pacquiao, it’s all about legacy and the country now. And also for the money of course. Eight divisions, eight championships. From flyweight (112 pounds) to super bantamweight (122), featherweight (126), super featherweight (130), lightweight (135), super lightweight (140), welterweight (147) and on to the super welterweight (154) division. He has won a title belt in each division, facing the best of the best in a career that sounds like a fairy tale. He has faced everyone from Erik Morales to Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito.
As Pacquiao mixes it up with Mosley, we’ll see another dominant Pacman doing more boxing than slugging in what should be an entertaining fight. Pacquiao isn’t expected to mix it up like a slugger early in the fight as he’ll carefully work his way around Mosley. We’ll see him display his technical side of his boxing maturity, thanks to his being a good student under Freddie Roach. We’ll see the Pacquiao from the de la Hoya, Cotto and Margarito fights who’ll use the right jab lead, then throw punches in combination flurries that will slowly but surely slow Mosley down. But don’t expect Pacquiao to mix it up unless he has the clear upper hand in an exchange of punches. He’ll be vulnerable to the power of a heavier boxer and doesn’t want to be in trouble for making a foolish mistake. He’ll use his quickness to move around Mosley then throw punches from any angle just when Mosley least expects it.
On the other side, Mosley is looking to land his right hand coming after setting the tone with his jab. If he’s quick enough and has enough gas in his tank, he should be able to chase Pacquiao down early in the fight. At 39 years old, I just don’t see him being able to keep up with the pace that will be set by the Pacman. Like the Mayweather fight, Mosley will find ways to somehow keep up with Pacquiao early in the fight, but will lose steam as the fight progresses. This is when Pacquiao will be able to pounce on a tiring or slowing Mosley who’ll lose by KO or TKO between the eighth and tenth rounds.
The one edge that Mosley has over de la Hoya, Margarito and Cotto is quickness. This is what Roach is “worried” about in a little way. Had this fight been held when Mosley was five years younger, it would’ve been a very big concern. But at 39 years old, Mosley’s quickness isn’t as “quick” as before although he’ll do a better job than de la Hoya, Margarito and Cotto, albeit good for only the first half of the fight. Mosley will manage to find a way to keep up with a circling and moving Pacquiao between the first and sixth rounds, but all this moving is going to get him tired. Moreover, the punches that he’ll be receiving will surely slow him down and make him think twice about launching whatever attacks he can shell out.
For Pacquiao, it’s going to be showtime. He realizes that ending the fight early won’t be good for the paying fight fans around the world. So he’ll use the first half of the fight to get Mosley dizzy with his flurries of punches. And it’ll all be a show for the fans. He’ll throw double, triple jabs, throw the left straight and right hook, then spin away from trouble right before Mosley can counter. And just when Mosley gets in a position to cut off Pacquiao, the Pacman will hit him from a different angle again. To his credit, Mosley is tough and won’t go down early, but he’ll surely be eating a lot of punches. On defense, Pacquiao won’t mix it up when in trouble, and will use his speed to get away. His punch flurries are defensive walls by themselves that won’t allow Mosley to land his vaunted right hand. The irony of it all is that we don’t give Mosley a chance of winning at all. But he’ll be more than happy with the fat paycheck he’ll be getting. Win-win, di ba?
At the end of the day, a guaranteed 20 million dollars and a place in boxing history will be in place. The Philippines will be in the spotlight anew all because of one man doing his thing on Mother’s Day.
Forget Money Mayweather. It’s Manny, Money, Manny.
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