Did Manny take Tim lightly?

Freddie Roach summed it up in a nutshell when the Hall of Fame boxing trainer recently said Manny Pacquiao isn’t the same fighter he was five years ago “but he’s still better than everyone else.”

Pacquiao diehards are realistic enough to admit that today, the Filipino ring icon idol isn’t as explosive or quick as he was in demolishing Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Erik Morales and even Antonio Margarito who went the distance only because his tormentor allowed it. No fighter has ever beaten Father Time or Mother Nature. No athlete has. The time will come when you realize age isn’t just a state of mind but also a reality you can’t turn back.

Pacquiao is now 33. He’s been a prizefighter since 1995. His record shows 60 fights and 365 rounds in the books. Pacquiao’s late business manager Rod Nazario once said the secret to prolonging a champion’s career is to alternate “hard” and “easy” fights. For Pacquiao, the trend seems evident. He went from a “hard” fight against Juan Manuel Marquez to an “easy” knockout over David Diaz to a “hard” encounter with Oscar de la Hoya to an “easy” match against Ricky Hatton to a “hard” bout with Cotto to an “easy” win over Joshua Clottey to a “hard” duel with Margarito to an “easy” match with Sugar Shane Mosley to a “hard” battle with Marquez and to a supposedly “easy” clash with Timothy Bradley Jr.

Could it be that Pacquiao didn’t take Bradley too seriously? He scaled 147 pounds for the Bradley fight, the heaviest in his career. His previous high was 145 3/4 for Clottey. While Pacquiao was within the welterweight limit of 147, his physique wasn’t as pronounced or defined as when he checked in at 144 for Cotto or 144 1/2 for Margarito. Bradley’s abs were a lot more ripped than Pacquiao’s when he took off his shirt to scale 146 at the weigh-in.

It appeared that Pacquiao didn’t carry the extra weight too comfortably. When Bradley got on his bicycle and started running away, Pacquiao just couldn’t pin him down. Pacquiao couldn’t cut the ring off by stepping into Bradley’s path because he was a stride or two too late. He lost the late rounds because it got harder dragging his feet to where he could land shots on Bradley.

Pacquiao knew Bradley would resort to bobbing, weaving and head movement to avoid getting hit. So when Bradley did his tricks, Pacquiao wasn’t surprised. In fact, Pacquiao said he knew all along Bradley would run in analyzing what went on in the ring that night. The problem was Pacquiao couldn’t catch him because his heavier-than-usual body wouldn’t cooperate.

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In the last days leading to his previous fights, Pacquiao would hit the sack by 9 p.m. after praying the rosary. But for the Bradley fight, he often stayed up close to midnight. A few days before the bout, Pacquiao was even made to witness an emotional reconciliation between a father and an estranged daughter – they’d been separated for over 20 years – in his hotel suite late at night. What for? To score points with Pacquiao by making it appear he’s the great healer of souls – at the expense of his sleeping hours? Pacquiao was only days from fighting Bradley but was subjected to a lot of mental tests that could’ve blunted his focus on boxing. At least three evangelists were engaged in a tug-of-war for Pacquiao’s attention in the run-up to the big fight. Can you imagine the confusion in Pacquiao’s mind dealing with three Bible-toting evangelists delivering different interpretations of the Scriptures?

Then, there was basketball on TV. Pacquiao watched the first part of Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals between Miami and Boston in his hotel suite at Mandalay Bay then took in the early minutes of the fourth period before retiring to a private room to do six minutes on a treadmill to loosen his calves at the MGM Grand Garden Arena shortly before the fight. When Pacquiao walked off the treadmill to start the wraps, there was no time left to warm up with the mitts. That’s how lightly Pacquiao took Bradley. If Cotto or Margarito or even De la Hoya were the opponent that night, Pacquiao would’ve been in total focus.

Despite the distractions, Pacquiao still did enough to beat Bradley only he couldn’t knock him out. That only proves his superiority as a fighter over the Desert Storm. Unfortunately, two of the three judges didn’t see it the right way and chose to score the fight for Bradley.

If Pacquiao isn’t the same as he was five years ago as Roach conceded, how much longer should he continue fighting before the law of diminishing returns makes him a candidate for serious injury? Muhammad Ali was 39 when he fought his last fight in 1981 and probably should’ve retired after regaining the world heavyweight crown from Leon Spinks three years before. Ali logged only 61 bouts but went 549 rounds in all. Ali was never the same after engaging Joe Frazier in the “Thrilla In Manila” in 1975 when he was 33 – Pacquiao’s age today. After the “Thrilla,” Ali took in 10 more fights and wound up losing three of his last four outings to Spinks, Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick. Ali paid dearly for quitting too late and is now afflicted with Parkinson’s disease stemming from pugilistic dementia.  

Ali was a pro for 21 years although he didn’t see action in 1968, 1969 and 1979. Pacquiao is now on his 17th year as a prizefighter with 60 total fights, just one less than Ali compiled in his career. The plan is for Pacquiao to do three more bouts. He could face Bradley in a rematch in November, maybe Marquez in a fourth meeting in March or April and finally, Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a blockbuster war at the end of next year. That should bring down the curtains on Pacquiao’s storybook career and preserve his legacy as one of the world’s greatest fighters ever.

“I don’t want to be like other guys who retire, then come back,” said Pacquiao, quoted by Bob Velin in USA Today. “If I retire, no more boxing.”