But I had never doubted Pacman’s big heart. More than anything else, that has been his most potent weapon. On the other hand, I just thought that dela Hoya was such a formidable foe for him considering all the tales of the tape. Matter of fact, I was not alone. Many, if not all fans and followers of Pacquiao, were also as arbitrary as anyone. Proof was the betting odds (100:165) which never changed until the last minute. Manny was the underdog all the way.
Then the actual fight was a bit different. From the first to the eight round Manny was slightly ahead of dela Hoya on points (10-9 per round). Though on the last few minutes of the first round dela Hoya unleashed some few combinations which Manny skillfully evaded, though he was hit a couple of times. As expected Manny came in the aggressive fighter landing 169 punches on the first 6 rounds as against dela Hoya’s 69. Dela Hoya was trying to conserve energy by dancing around and giving occasional shots while Manny was relentlessly coming into his face and body until on the fifth round he caught up with dela Hoya on the left eye.
By the seventh round, dela Hoya had an obviously swollen face. Manny took advantage of this and continued to unleash a barrage of punches on the eight round hitting dela Hoya all over. This time, dela Hoya’s left eye seems to be badly swollen.
Then came the buzzer for the ninth round. Surprisingly, the handlers of dela Hoya threw in the towel signaling the end of the fight. They must have sensed that with a badly swollen left eye and the way Manny is attacking dela Hoya, it was safer to give up the fight that early rather than suffer humiliation by seeing their protégée fell down to the canvass. That was still a technical knockout (TKO).
This fight affirmed more than ever that the big-hearted Manny Pacquiao is the greatest Filipino fighter today and of the recent past.
Mabuhay ka Manny! Mabuhay ang Pilipino!
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