By Lee Groves
Boxing’s first big weekend of 2010 has now passed into the cosmos and, improbably, Manny Pacquiao’s star has gotten even brighter.
His comprehensive victory over Joshua Clottey – as well as other action throughout the weekend – inspired plenty of thoughts from the Home Office, and this time I’m going to work my way back in time. Here’s this week’s collection of synaptic soliloquies.
Every sports fan wants to feel as if he’s bearing witness to history. With Manny Pacquiao, we’re doing just that.
Will boxing fans – or sports enthusiasts in general – ever again see the likes of the “Pac Man?” Perhaps, but we’ll have to wait a generation or two before we encounter someone with his mix of physical gifts and fiery mindset, and we’ll probably have to wait forever before we come across another one-time flyweight champion capable of running through the divisions the way Pacquiao’s done.
The physical and stylistic transformation Pacquiao’s achieved over the past few years has been nothing short of phenomenal, and until there’s definitive proof otherwise, we must believe his achievements are the product of God-given gifts amplified by a prodigious work ethic.
In this age of limited fight action, division-hopping and over-cautious matchmaking, fighters of the modern era must do what Pacquiao has in order to get into the all-time pound-for-pound conversation, amongst the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez, Sugar Ray Leonard, etc. Pacquiao’s conquered an unprecedented number of weight classes while defeating an endless assembly line of challenging, if not outright dangerous, opponents. In doing so, he’s achieved worldwide acclaim that rivals the biggest stars in any endeavor, much less sports.
He possesses the kind of universal fame usually reserved for the Pope and the President of the United States. Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson had – and still have – an aura whose glow will transcend time and circumstance. Should Pacquiao polish off his career with a victory over the winner of Mayweather-Mosley, he’ll secure that everlasting fame for himself – as well as a spot on my top-20 all-time pound-for-pound list.
It’s one thing for a dominant and charismatic heavyweight champion to achieve this mainstream status, but quite another for an Asian athlete who once ruled over one of boxing’s smallest weight classes. Talk about mind-boggling upsets.
With Pacquiao-Clottey taking place in a football stadium, the Pac Man’s victory can be explained in gridiron terms.
For opponents, fighting Pacquiao must be similar to the dynamic that exists between wide receivers and defensive backs. The receiver knows where he’s going and when he’ll make his breaks while the DB is forced to hold back and react. That vital split-second advantage – as well as NFL rules that ban contact after five yards – allows the receiver the edge he needs to improve his odds of success.
The unique issue for Pacquiao’s opponents is that the Filipino’s punches are so fast and thrown from such weird angles that they have no time to react, much less impose their own strengths on him.
In preparing for fights, trainer Freddie Roach has Pacquiao execute a series of carefully choreographed moves with his hands and feet to seize upon his opponents’ weaknesses, much like football coaches do with their receiver corps to exploit gaps in the rival’s defensive schemes. Roach drills these moves into Pacquiao’s head until they become second nature. Pacquiao greatly helps the process, not only with his immense physical gifts, but also by being intelligent enough to process and execute. Not only that, his acumen is such that he can persuasively suggest cogent alternatives should something not feel right.
Preparation’s one thing, but applying the game plan in the heat of battle is another. Roach and Pacquiao knew the likelihood of scoring a knockout was low given Clottey’s size, strength and durability. Instead of foolishly pressing the issue, Team Pacquiao adjusted accordingly.
Pacquiao approached Clottey like a high-flying offensive juggernaut would against a robust defensive team. Instead of going for the bomb early, Pacquiao took whatever Clottey’s defense gave him and racked up the yards. Like a quarterback dinking and dunking his way down the field, he worked up and down Clottey’s anatomy with speedy blows that hit the few openings Clottey’s shell exposed. Many of the shots targeted Clottey’s body, either to the flanks or straight shots to the stomach. Then, when it came time to air it out, he pulled the trigger and scored enough points to win the game – and secure his berth in his sport’s version of the Super Bowl.
Pacquiao-Clottey could be a preview of what Pacquiao-Mayweather might look like, at least strategically.
Mayweather and Clottey are similar in that they use their airtight defense to set up their offense, though Mayweather’s accuracy – especially in terms of power punches – is far superior.
Pacquiao showed he has the stamina to throw all night long if he’s not given any reason to stop. To do that, Mayweather must punch and make each blow count, something Clottey was unable – or perhaps unwilling – to do.
Mayweather has to do better than the 41 punches per round he amassed against Marquez if he wants to keep Pacquiao off him. While Mayweather will never be able to equal Pacquiao’s output, he can use his ring science to somewhat neutralize the Filipino’s effectiveness. Mayweather’s power punch connect percentages are off the charts, and he’ll need that accuracy – as well as his height and reach advantages – to keep Typhoon Manny from drowning him.
The Pacquiao-Clottey undercard, while it looked decent on paper, failed to properly set the table for the main course.
Ideally, the fights that precede a PPV main event must build the telecast toward a crescendo, although fans wouldn’t argue too strenuously if the understudies manage to usurp the stars.
Although John Duddy won a split decision over Michael Medina, the action was hardly inspiring and the win did nothing to persuade those who believe Duddy’s more hype than hope.
Alfonso Gomez did what he was supposed to do against 36-year-old Jose Luis Castillo, who looked slow, shopworn and every inch the 20-year, 71-fight veteran he was. The ending was anti-climactic to say the least, but for Castillo’s sake it was probably for the best. Why should he absorb even more punishment? If he wants to take a farewell fight in his hometown, he’s earned that right, but other than that he and his family should discuss seriously whether he should continue to soldier on.
The Humberto Soto-David Diaz bout for the vacant WBC lightweight title was the best of the bunch only because Diaz mounted a good late-fight charge after being dominated over the first half. He’s always been a determined sort who fights better as the fight goes longer, and such was the case Saturday night. Is it just me, or will Soto be fated to be one of history’s most overlooked three-division champs? I hope not, because he’s the kind of solid professional who should be appreciated.
It was great to see an additional 90 minutes of coverage before the Pacquiao-Clottey pay-per-view on DirecTV, but there’s room for improvement.
To those responsible for televising the extra fight action, there was both good and bad.
First the good: Last year, I suggested that PPV telecasts would benefit from showing more undercard fights because true boxing fans just love to see fights, no matter how obscure the combatants. I’m happy to see my call to action’s been heeded, and for that I say “thank you.”
To see these fights separate from the PPV portion is a great bonus, plus it makes good business sense. First, it serves as a tasty incentive for those on the fence to take the plunge and buy the rest of the card. And second, fans get a ground-floor opportunity to see a potential future star.
That was the good. Now here’s the bad.
Four interview segments bled more than a minute into the subsequent round, and the one involving Dallas Cowboy owner (and event host) Jerry Jones sliced off nearly two minutes. Is it really necessary to have the people involved on camera every single second, especially if the content is star-driven fluff? Really, must we hear the interviewers talk about the 1,600 toilets in Cowboys Stadium while there’s unseen action going on in the ring?
The producers were lucky that Roberto Marroquin’s second round knockout of Samuel Sanchez came in the second minute instead of the first, which well could have happened given Marroquin’s late-round knockdown in the first. They dodged another big bullet with Rodrigo Garcia’s second round knockout of Calvin Pitts, which occurred just seconds after the cameras returned to the ring following the Jones interview.
If an interview’s definitely going to flow into the next round, why not have the video cut back to the ring with the discussion continuing on the audio side? It’s a pretty simple technique commonly used on other telecasts, so why wasn’t that used here? It provides a perfect balance; the “talent” gets one uninterrupted minute on camera and the fans get the benefit of seeing three minutes of every round.
If there are celebrity interviews that must last several minutes, save those for between fights. To be fair, some of my suggestions were applied in spots, but I believe executing these techniques every time would make for a much better presentation. I look forward to seeing the next effort.
