Pacman Sunday
Bleacher Talk
October 7, 2007
Pacman Sunday
Today is Pacman Sunday. It’s the most important day of the sports calendar for 2007 as the entire country will literally come to a halt to watch our beloved hero report to work.
But unlike his previous fights, a few interesting twists have arisen and the skeptics and pessimists have jumped on the occasion to add their own share of negative forecasts. I just thought it would be nice to bring these up first and see how fans of the Pacman will react.
For starters, some have said that Pacquiao is once again besieged with all kinds of distractions: showbiz, his businesses, problems in his LA apartment and even a third party. All these are supposed to bother him so much that he’s going to climb the ring thinking about these and not the fight per se.
Then there’s the choice of Cebu as his main base or training camp for today’s big fight. Why Cebu? Somehow, Cebu is now being pictured as the wrong place to train for a world championship fight.
Amidst all these, did you hear all the talk about how Pacquiao and his promoters are thinking about a third fight with Barrera more than anything else? If a trilogy is a must to make money, the skeptics are now saying that Barrera is a sure winner to guaranty a third fight in what could be a greater rivalry than Morales-Barrera or Pacquiao-Morales.
To all this, all I can say is: Cut the bull and let’s get to work! We all know how Pacquiao is going to overpower Barrera and the only thing that will ruin today’s fight is if a cut from a headbutt or some weird accident happens on top of the ring and the fight needs to be stopped. Pacquiao is so much stronger, younger and more superior than a Barrera who has seen the better years of his career go by. Pacquiao will use his hand speed, power and relentless pressure to dominate Barrera.
On the other hand, Barrera is going to play the smart fight and will not slug it out with Pacquiao. Expect Barrera to come out as a boxer today. He’ll use the jab to keep his distance, and will not engage Pacquiao in a slug-it-out exchange of fists. He’ll clinch whenever gets Pacquiao comes close, and you know that his hugs and embraces are not of the brotherly type of love.
If there’s a department where Barrera might have the edge, it would be his being a better technical boxer. I don’t see him having a distinct edge, but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. From this angle, Barrera will use the jab as his lead punch and then study what combinations to use to attack Pacquiao. I’m guessing that Barrera will be more of a jab and counter-puncher type of a boxer, much in the same way that Juan Manuel Marquez forced Pacquiao to a draw. If you’re looking for a way to beat Pacquiao, all you have to do is watch his fight against Marquez. Even when in reverse mode, Marquez found a way to tag Pacquiao with perfectly-timed counter jabs and right straights.
Pacquiao will just be himself today, and will add whatever new weapon they worked on in secret with Freddie Roach. Pacquiao will be the aggressor of the fight and will be on the run to chase down Barrera wherever he goes. The talk is that Pacquiao will even follow Barrera to the comfort room if he has to. He will fire punches from all angles as he always does, and won’t mind getting hit in the process. That’s just the way he fights. If there’s one aspect that Pacquiao has really improved on, it would have to be his body punching. He’s going to hit Barrera’s “bodega” with the same power that goes with his head-hunting punches, and this is going to slow Barrera down. I wouldn’t be surprised if Barrera goes down from a barrage of body punches somewhere in the fight.
The other aspect that Pacquiao has also worked on from the Marquez fight is his footwork. Although he’s already quick and fast, Pacquiao didn’t look pretty when having to cut the corners and track his foes down. The good news is that he has also worked on this with tremendous results. Barrera will be on his bicycle on day long, but Pacquiao will sooner or later catch up with him. This is where the combination of body blows and relentless chasing by Pacquiao will eventually slow Barrera down.
Let’s put it this way. Barrera was a great warrior and he’s had his better days. But we saw none of this in his last fights against Marquez and Rocky Juarez. If he had a hard time against Juarez and even lost to Marquez, what will make him win against Pacquiao?
In the end, don’t be surprised to see Barrera weathering a 12-round war through sheer heart and gallantry, but it won’t even be close. Pacquiao will take this in a lopsided manner that could go the distance or end around the ninth or tenth rounds.
Have a wonderful Pacman Sunday!
***
Time-out: Happy birthday to my sister Anneli Navarro Christensen! >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.
October 7, 2007
Pacman Sunday
Today is Pacman Sunday. It’s the most important day of the sports calendar for 2007 as the entire country will literally come to a halt to watch our beloved hero report to work.
But unlike his previous fights, a few interesting twists have arisen and the skeptics and pessimists have jumped on the occasion to add their own share of negative forecasts. I just thought it would be nice to bring these up first and see how fans of the Pacman will react.
For starters, some have said that Pacquiao is once again besieged with all kinds of distractions: showbiz, his businesses, problems in his LA apartment and even a third party. All these are supposed to bother him so much that he’s going to climb the ring thinking about these and not the fight per se.
Then there’s the choice of Cebu as his main base or training camp for today’s big fight. Why Cebu? Somehow, Cebu is now being pictured as the wrong place to train for a world championship fight.
Amidst all these, did you hear all the talk about how Pacquiao and his promoters are thinking about a third fight with Barrera more than anything else? If a trilogy is a must to make money, the skeptics are now saying that Barrera is a sure winner to guaranty a third fight in what could be a greater rivalry than Morales-Barrera or Pacquiao-Morales.
To all this, all I can say is: Cut the bull and let’s get to work! We all know how Pacquiao is going to overpower Barrera and the only thing that will ruin today’s fight is if a cut from a headbutt or some weird accident happens on top of the ring and the fight needs to be stopped. Pacquiao is so much stronger, younger and more superior than a Barrera who has seen the better years of his career go by. Pacquiao will use his hand speed, power and relentless pressure to dominate Barrera.
On the other hand, Barrera is going to play the smart fight and will not slug it out with Pacquiao. Expect Barrera to come out as a boxer today. He’ll use the jab to keep his distance, and will not engage Pacquiao in a slug-it-out exchange of fists. He’ll clinch whenever gets Pacquiao comes close, and you know that his hugs and embraces are not of the brotherly type of love.
If there’s a department where Barrera might have the edge, it would be his being a better technical boxer. I don’t see him having a distinct edge, but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. From this angle, Barrera will use the jab as his lead punch and then study what combinations to use to attack Pacquiao. I’m guessing that Barrera will be more of a jab and counter-puncher type of a boxer, much in the same way that Juan Manuel Marquez forced Pacquiao to a draw. If you’re looking for a way to beat Pacquiao, all you have to do is watch his fight against Marquez. Even when in reverse mode, Marquez found a way to tag Pacquiao with perfectly-timed counter jabs and right straights.
Pacquiao will just be himself today, and will add whatever new weapon they worked on in secret with Freddie Roach. Pacquiao will be the aggressor of the fight and will be on the run to chase down Barrera wherever he goes. The talk is that Pacquiao will even follow Barrera to the comfort room if he has to. He will fire punches from all angles as he always does, and won’t mind getting hit in the process. That’s just the way he fights. If there’s one aspect that Pacquiao has really improved on, it would have to be his body punching. He’s going to hit Barrera’s “bodega” with the same power that goes with his head-hunting punches, and this is going to slow Barrera down. I wouldn’t be surprised if Barrera goes down from a barrage of body punches somewhere in the fight.
The other aspect that Pacquiao has also worked on from the Marquez fight is his footwork. Although he’s already quick and fast, Pacquiao didn’t look pretty when having to cut the corners and track his foes down. The good news is that he has also worked on this with tremendous results. Barrera will be on his bicycle on day long, but Pacquiao will sooner or later catch up with him. This is where the combination of body blows and relentless chasing by Pacquiao will eventually slow Barrera down.
Let’s put it this way. Barrera was a great warrior and he’s had his better days. But we saw none of this in his last fights against Marquez and Rocky Juarez. If he had a hard time against Juarez and even lost to Marquez, what will make him win against Pacquiao?
In the end, don’t be surprised to see Barrera weathering a 12-round war through sheer heart and gallantry, but it won’t even be close. Pacquiao will take this in a lopsided manner that could go the distance or end around the ninth or tenth rounds.
Have a wonderful Pacman Sunday!
***
Time-out: Happy birthday to my sister Anneli Navarro Christensen! >>> You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.
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