Long after the hair-splitting hangover passed and the last few cuss words were unleashed in social media sites, Filipinos across the country and the rest of the world will look back at the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight with a slight tinge of regret but also with their ever-present humor and pride – that someone from their ranks had showed himself to be every bit as good, if not better than the touted “best in the world.”
Barely had the fight ended when the Sarangani congressman told international and Philippine media that he’d been nursing a right shoulder injury that hampered his vaunted “Manila Ice,” that right hook counter over left jab that floored opponents like Miguel Cotto and Ricky Hatton.
Team Pacquiao failed to secure authorization from the Las Vegas Nevada Commission to have the boxer have an an anti-inflammatory shot to ease the pain of that shoulder injury. Perhaps, just perhaps, it could have given Pacquiao that edge to beat the slippery Mayweather.
But what-ifs are an exercise in futility. It would also smack of pathetic desperation, which is unfair to Pacquiao, who said himself that he wouldn’t use the shoulder injury as an excuse for his failure to knock out Mayweather.
A look at the CompuBox score bears this out.
Of the 435 punches thrown by Mayweather, he landed 148 punches for a hit average of 35 percent compared to 81 out of 429 punches thrown by Pacquiao for a low 19 percent.
Wonder no more why Mayweather danced to a unanimous decision victory over Pacquiao, even if the crowd that watched at MGM Grand Arena and the millions of Filipinos who paid good money for pay-per-view see otherwise.
Perhaps the pain of defeat is magnified by the amount of money lost in bets and spent watching the fight on pay-per-view or live in the Las Vegas venue itself.
Those who flew to Las Vegas and spent a fortune to watch the “Fight of the Century” up close must be cursing at how their experience was shortchanged by Mayweather’s defense tactics.
Nevertheless, the Pinoy’s penchant for optimism remains, as shown by Pacquiao himself, who acknowledged that Mayweather was the better boxer for now.
Up to the end, he carried himself with dignity.
And Mayweather, for all his arrogant showboating, was forced to be gracious and complement his Filipino challenger for being “a hell of a fighter, a tough competitor.”
Pacquiao trained hard and did his best.
That’s all we could ask from him.
We agree with President Benigno Aquino III that Pahe should be able to enjoy the fruits of his labor while he still can with his family.
When Pacquiao finally retires from boxing, he knows he remains the People’s Champion in history and in our hearts.