Jorrin, 31, is Senrima’s age. But the similarity ends there. Senrima showed a lot of guts and a big heart in holding his ground against Pacquiao. The Japanese of North Korean descent, however, had little else to show. Pacquiao turned Senrima into a human punching bag before Korean referee Wan Soo Yuh mercifully stepped in at 1:06 of the fifth to end the carnage.
If Yuh didn’t stop it, Senrima would’ve eventually gone down. The punishment would’ve taken its toll. And Senrima could’ve gotten badly hurt, maybe even seriously injured, if the fight went on.
Senrima wanted to continue and protested Yuh’s stoppage. That’s how big his heart is or how brainless he is. It was useless for the massacre to go on. What for? Senrima hadn’t won a single round and Pacquiao looked like a heartless executioner in the ring. To allow Senrima to continue fighting would’ve been suicidal.
Senrima was no patsy, that’s for sure, although he probably never faced anyone in Pacquiao’s class. He’d won 11 of his last 12 fights before battling Pacquiao. No doubt, he came to fight, not to roll over and die. But the beating he took wasn’t worth his $8,000 paycheck.
Senrima’s real name is Chulho Kan. He adopted his manager Keitoh Senrima’s surname. Keitoh was a former Japanese middleweight champion, whose grandparents were North Korean. He came with his pretty wife Chong-Mi who trains and manages fighters in their Kobe-based stable. Keitoh and Chong-Mi were high school sweethearts.
As for Pacquiao, he knew he couldn’t afford to lose. He’s the WBC No. 3 contender and the WBC International superbantamweight champion. The word is he’s one or two wins away from rising to No. 1 in the ratings and gaining a mandatory crack at Jorrin’s throne.
The day before the fight, Pacquiao weighed in a pound over the superbantamweight limit of 122 on his first try at the scales in the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) office in Makati. He wasn’t bothered. Throughout his training, Pacquiao never went beyond 124. But that morning, he drank a glass of milk and that put an extra pound on his body.
Pacquiao wrapped himself up in a sweatsuit and in 20 minutes, the pound was gone. No problem, he said, although the first try triggered bad memories of when he was stripped of the WBC flyweight crown for failing to make the weight in 1999.
After disposing of Senrima, Pacquiao confessed that he went all out for a knockout from the opening bell because he owed it to his fans. There was some controversy in his last fight where he survived a knockdown to stop Nedal Hussein on cuts. He badly wanted to put Senrima on the canvas but the gutsy North Korean just wouldn’t oblige. Still, it was a rousing win and as Pacquiao left the ring, he was mobbed by cheering fans.
When the crowd went wild, the police couldn’t control the mob. Several fans later complained that they were pickpocketed. Pacquiao lost his cellphone.
Pacquiao’s wife Jinky was at ringside. Their newly-born son Junior stayed in General Santos City. Pacquiao said it’s bad luck for a baby to travel before being baptized.
Pacquiao’s business manager Rod Nazario said he’s taking the fighter to the US next month. The trip could lead to a tune-up, noted Nazario’s partner Lito Mondejar, but if a fight can’t be arranged, it’ll just be a vacation. Nazario plans to accompany Pacquiao to Los Angeles and New York.
San Francisco-based lawyer Sydney Hall flew into town to watch Pacquiao fight and said he’s gotten feelers from several big-time US promoters ready to offer the slugger anywhere between $20,000 to $60,000 for a tune-up.
"Manny’s going straight to the top," said Hall who has brought Gerry Peñalosa, Vernie Torres and Jerry Balagbagan to the US for fights. "I’m confident after a tune-up, he’ll command a purse in six digits. Even Miguel Diaz, who trains Erik Morales, wants to work with Manny. I’ve gotten calls from Tom Brown of America Presents and Don Chargin. Then there’s Top Rank and the Roy Jones group from Pensacola asking about Manny."
Incidentally, Balagbagan — the former Philippine superwelterweight champion — now trains in Jones’ camp and earned $5,000 for knocking out Dory Yonker in a round in his US debut in Biloxi last Jan. 18.
Hall is bringing another Filipino, former World Boxing Federation featherweight titlist Orlando Villaflor, to the US to fight on May 22. Villaflor will be paid $7,000 for his US debut and leaves tomorrow.
Hall said Pacquiao shouldn’t rush things. "Manny’s the pride of the Philippines and he’s not going to the US to lose," he noted. "He needs a tune-up before going for Jorrin and could use training from someone like Diaz or the Goosens or the Duvas. He hits hard and does considerable damage but lacks ring generalship. He doesn’t know how to pace himself and his defense still needs fine-tuning."
Hall said a US promotions company will likely agree to support Pacquiao on condition the deal is for at least three fights.
Jorrin’s WBC title is the ultimate target. From all indications, Jorrin should be easy pickings for Pacquiao although he boasts a 28-0 record, with 12 KOs. He’s not a spring chicken at 31 and he’s never encountered a power puncher like Pacquiao in the pros.
Jorrin had a long amateur career. In 1990, he lost to Sergio Reyes in the semifinals of the US Championships and two years later, was outpointed by Julian Wheeler at the US Olympic trials.
Jorrin scored a disputed majority decision over Michael Brodie to capture the WBC crown vacated by Morales in Manchester last September. In his first defense last month, Jorrin beat Oscar Larios of Mexico but the decision was also questionable. Jorrin has been ordered to stake his title against Brodie in a rematch and Pacquiao hopes to battle the survivor.
Jorrin, a stylist, is not a hard hitter. He has above-average handspeed and likes to dazzle his opponents with side-to-side movement. His best weapon is a jarring right straight. He hardly throws his left which he uses basically as a probe.
The way I see it, Jorrin won’t last five rounds with Pacquiao.