|
While taking nothing away from Manny Pacquiao’s masterful
performance, it cannot be denied that nobody really saw
“Dangerous” David Diaz pulling the upset rug from under the feet
of the Filipino ring icon.
Heading into the fight, Diaz was given at the
very least a miracle of a chance to land the upset axe. Then again,
it can be argued the defending World Boxing Council (WBC)
lightweight champion never even had a miracle because God had
already given it to his favorite David—the one who slew Goliath.
When Diaz-Pacquiao was first announced in April,
the smart money rollers instantly installed Pacquiao as a 3-to-1
pick. By fight time, the odds favoring a Pacquiao victory had soared
to as high as 5 1/2-to-1.
Gracing the popular television sports show NBN
Sports on June 24, I readily predicted a ninth-round stoppage
victory for PacMan. I told the affable host of the show Snow Badua
that there was no way Diaz could win as Pacquiao simply offered an
abundance of talent. I envisioned Pacquiao displaying his full
arsenal, boxing Diaz silly before embalming him alive in the ninth
frame.
True enough, Diaz capitulated in the ninth
stanza. The American’s face was so battered and bloodied he could
have easily qualified that night for the lead role in the next
Friday the 13th movie.
Diaz claimed it was PacMan’s speed that killed
him. The guy got it wrong. What killed Diaz was his lack of speed.
Diaz offered the mobility of a statue. With the extra pounds,
Pacquiao was not even that fast, at least not as fast as he was when
he manhandled Marco Antonio Barrera in November 2003 in their battle
for the people’s featherweight crown.
How slow was Diaz? There were instances in the
fight when I thought Pacquiao could have thrown a right jab at Diaz,
ran to the front row of the arena to gobble a hotdog and return to
the ring to throw a left that Diaz would still catch.
Suffice it to say, Diaz’s lethargy gave
Pacquiao the luxury of time to experiment on his skills. The result
was a performance that could only be described as Pacquiaonesque.
Compounding Diaz’s woes was the two-layered
defense put up by Pacquiao.
The first line of defense was the pesky right
jab that served as a force field and prevented Diaz from getting
chest hair-close to Pacquiao. The second line of defense was the
side-to-side lateral movement Pacquiao employed on the occasions
when Diaz was finally able to get under the jab. By the time Diaz
was able to get past the jab, Pacquiao was already several blocks
away from the stalking American.
Except for the seventh round, when a strong
punch to the body forced Pacquiao to cringe, I never saw Diaz
seriously mount an offense. Diaz’s best chance was to cut the ring
and force Pacquiao into the ropes where the former could unload at
will. The brilliant defensive plan Pacquiao put up, however, made
the Filipino a slippery target. Trying to catch Pacquiao that night
was like trying to put lightning in a bottle.
The only strategy Diaz apparently had was to
allow Pacquiao to hit him at will and wait for the Filipino to punch
himself out. The strategy was partially successful. Pacquiao did hit
Diaz repeatedly and with impunity. Unfortunately for Diaz, the
PacMan did not get tired. Pacquiao showed up in better condition for
the fight. Trainer Freddie Roach made sure Pacquiao would not bulk
up after officially meeting the required 135-pound limit. Whereas
before Pacquiao would look sluggish by adding almost 20 lbs after
meeting the weight limit in his weight class, for his lightweight
debut against Diaz the Filipino weighed 145 lbs on the actual
fight—a gain of just 10 lbs.
Pacquiao’s flurries were also well-timed and
judiciously thrown. There were no reckless offensive assaults. Every
punch was thrown with a purpose.
As he walked down the aisle and into the squared
circle, Diaz had only two chances—slim and none.
When the bell rang, slim immediately walked out
of the building.
___
For comments, the writer can be reached at atty_eduardo@
yahoo.com.
|
