More speed, less power

MACAU – It was Manny Pacquiao’s speed, not power, that led to Brandon Rios’ crushing defeat at the Cotai Arena inside the Venetian Resort Hotel here last Sunday morning. A lot of fans were dismayed that Pacquiao failed to knock out Rios and some even wondered if the Filipino icon had lost his touch as a demolition expert.

Pacquiao’s boyhood pal Buboy Fernandez said the emphasis in training camp was speed from the onset. Freddie Roach knew that Rios wouldn’t be able to cope with Pacquiao’s speed particularly as he wasn’t in condition to keep pace. Rios had difficulty with Richard Abril and should’ve lost to the Cuban on points last year. Abril taught Rios a neat boxing lesson but couldn’t convince the judges he deserved to win.

How Abril handled Rios was how Roach planned for Pacquiao to take care of business last Sunday. Pacquiao boxed Rios silly, using movement to slip away from danger zone and creating angles to pop him in an inside-outside attack. It’s no secret that since Pacquiao ventured to the welterweight division and once to the lightmiddleweight class, knockouts have been scarce. Pacquiao used to blow away opponents with his raw power but bigger opponents are harder to fall. More than ever before, Pacquiao now has to rely on his boxing skills to beat opponents who outweigh him.

How Pacquiao will do against Timothy Bradley or Juan Manuel Marquez or even Floyd Mayweather is anybody’s guess. But if he displays the skills and mobility that dazzled Rios, Pacquiao will be doubly dangerous. He has proved that depending on the opponent, he can adjust his style to do what has to be done to win. His resiliency is a huge advantage.

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Pacquiao was conscious of not fighting Rios’ style. He stood his ground only occasionally as for the most part, he executed a perfect hit-and-run strategy. Rios fumbled and often missed badly as Pacquiao sidestepped, backtracked and spun away from the plodder. Pacquiao wasn’t only quicker, he was smarter.

Rios will never be the same again. He took a severe beating from Pacquiao and even if he didn’t go down, the performance will surely affected his marketability. Rios was reportedly guaranteed a career-high $3 Million for the fight. He earned every penny. For all his boastful remarks and trash-talking, Rios ate humble pie after the schooling by Pacquiao.

It’s unfortunate that Rios’ idol is the late Johnny Tapia, the devil-may-care fighter who lived “la vida loca” and died of drug abuse last year. Tapia was an undisciplined brawler. Rios won’t last long as a fighter if he doesn’t learn to sacrifice, tune up his body and work punishing hours in the gym.

HBO commentator Jim Lampley said Rios must get his act together. “You wonder if his life could take another wrong turn, particularly when his boxing career comes to an end,” he said. “I can remember the height of Fernando Vargas’ career. The people at Main Events were always sort of nervous about him. You sensed that there was an urgency to put him in big fights as soon as they could get them because you never knew when Fernando would do something to blow it all up. There is the same sort of potential with Rios.”

Garcia is the steadying influence in Rios’ life. The trainer introduced Rios to his wife Victoria Lopez who is nine years older and works as a professional therapist. Rios and his wife have three children. Rios has two from a previous relationship. In all, Rios has five, namely, Laila named after Muhammad Ali’s daughter, Mia named after boxer Mia St. John, Ava, Marco Antonio named after Barrera and Brandon, Jr.

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Rios said he cried when his manager Cameron Dunkin got him the fight against Pacquiao. After losing to Pacquiao, Rios was probably in tears again. He was outclassed by a superior fighter and exposed as just an ordinary palooka.

In the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post the other day, writer Unus Alladin said the biggest surprise was Rios still standing in the end. Rios proved to be durable and tough as nails. “Pacquiao’s quickness with his deft hands and his famous footwork shone through,” said Alladin. “Rios tried to land that one big knockout punch time (and) again, hitting the Filipino with solid body shots but Pacquiao was too quick and smart.”

Rios is in the situation that Pacquiao once was as the loser of two straight. He faces the challenge of coming back from adversity but may not possess the fortitude, determination, skills and heart to rebound like Pacquiao. Rios, the younger fighter, was supposed to be hungrier than Pacquiao because he has won only one world title compared to the Filipino’s eight in different divisions. But as it turned out, Pacquiao was more motivated to win. He sacrificed a lot to convince doubters that he’s far from finished as a fighter. Pacquiao’s mission isn’t over. He wants to put the country on his back and lead it to better times. Beating Rios was a step in the right direction.