of pay per views and filipino pride…

 What a fight! What a great fight! What a great one-sided fight!!! What more adjectives can I add? If you have been living under a rock for the last few hours, Manny Pacquiao obliterated Ricky Hatton in just two rounds. With this win, “Pacman” cemented his claim of being the best pound for pound boxer in the world. I had some doubts on whether Manny can take real hits from someone from a higher weight class. Cause let’s face it, he was never really hit by bigger opponents in his previous fights (Both Diaz and Dela Hoya never had any chance to do some offense). Now I can say that he can take those hits. Of the 18 punches Ricky landed, some of them were really hard hits. But Manny never felt those punches. We even saw his trademark “touch glove move” early in the first round, denoting that he is unfazed with Hatton’s punches. I think Pacquiao should be officially named a Filipino hero (barring any unintelligent decisions regarding his political and showbiz career). Some random notes from today’s awesome bout…

• this is the first pacman fight i saw live via satellite… i wanted pacman to win because if he lost, then I might have jinxed him… i must have felt what Aling Dionesia (Manny’s mother) felt… it was her first time to watch his son fight in the US…
• it was nice watching the fight live, everybody was oohhing and ahhhing at Manny’s every punch…
• if there was anyone to blame for Hatton’s loss, I blame Mayweather Sr. I saw the HBO 24/7 preview and I saw that Mayweather Sr. was sometimes late during their training sessions… how professional… and he has the guts to say he is the best trainer and not freddie roach? c’mon… more on roach later… but going back to mayweather, maybe senior didn’t train Hatton well so he can setup a Pacquiao vs Mayweather, Jr. bout…
• speaking of Marquez, JMM just can’t have a break… after his loss to Pacman, he is trying to have another rematch… even going to the Philippines to beg for one… when Pacman goes up a weight level, he goes up as well… to his credit, he has been winning… but he’s not money making material… a pacquiao-marquez III won’t generate enough cash… at least now, he has a chance to get that rematch he’s been clamoring for… he only has to beat Floyd Mayweather, Jr… right, like that’s gonna happen…
• manny is getting better in his interviews… i mean, it’s not just that he doesn’t need a translator, but his answers are kinda clear and they really makes sense, you know… i mean, he is really learning, you know… i mean, even when it was that “walang kwentang” Chino Trinidad asking, he was still answering very well, you know… when asked about the looming Mayweather fight, he said he was never the one to challenge anyone… he just fights whoever and tries to give the fans a very exciting match… i mean, if that’s not a well thought of answer, then what is… you know… vitwater….
• every pacman fight, we see new commercials… here are my winners for:

       Worst Commerical:
            2nd Runner Up - LBC - Spell Remittance (teaching kids to spell incorrectly, not cool)
            1st Runner Up - Revicon (a very corny commercial, even for Robin Padilla’s standards)
            Champion - any commercial featuring PGMA’s cabinet (sino kau? tatakbo b kayo 4 president???)
       Best Commercial:
            1st Runner Up - Tokyo Tokyo - WattaTempura (very funny, kawawang shrimp, may future p nmn sana)
            Champion - Pioneer Elastoseal, sa tuyo man o sa basa, kumakapit… (Ay…)

• i liked martin nievera’s rendition of the national anthem… not the greatest, but still… another random note: my ate said that the Lupang Hinirang should be sung in a marching beat, and no “birit” required…
• lastly, a quote from Bob Arum: “First, let this be a lesson to all…no matter how much you have achieved, you have to continue to learn. This young man (Pacquiao) does not stop learning. Second, Manny Pacquiao is the greatest boxer that ever lived.” ’nuff said…

l8r dayz…

the best pound for pound boxer…

that’s one of the latest title “Pacman” Manny Pacquiao received this week… the other one being the WBC lightweight champion, which he won against David Diaz today (June 29)… the best pound for pound was given to him by boxing experts after Floyd Mayweather’s retirement last month… hewas number 2, and when Mayweather retired, you have to give Manny that recognition… but what he did in the fight against Diaz, he just proved to the world that he is worthy of that label… Manny has won the championship of four weight classes, a feat no Asian has ever done (and i bet a few others have)… and what is funny about pacquiao fights, they’re always timely fought to easen tension in the Philippines… whether its a political crisis or a natural disaster, there’s always a manny pacquiao bout to lighten up the mood and unite the Filipino nation even for just a day…

other notes from today’s bout…

• it was good to see the boston celtics with manny after the fight… manny was said to be rooting for the celtics during the recently concluded finals… while the manny and celtics were celebrating, the lakers and marquez were seen sulking and crying their asses of… (hehe, last tira ko na sa lakers… pramis)
• do we need a set of commercial between the national anthems? really???
• having your haircut while a pacquiao figth is on… not a good idea…
• david diaz is a classy opponent… he gave it his all and even reached the 9th inspite of the flurry of punches manny landedon him… he was gracious in defeat, even citing that Manny was the better man that night… his class act just earned him a San Mig commercial with Manny here…
• speaking of commercials, we hada whole bunch of them… what do you expect… i now realized that a Manny Pacquiao fight in the Philippines is equivalent to the Superbowl in the US wherein companies try to sell their products by getting a commercial spot for that event… there were a lot of commercials during the 10 hour coverage (feeling ko ganun katagal), but only a few were worth mentioning… the new ads that caught my attention were: 4 of the many LBC commercials (TOW the nangangating palad, TOW the umbrella, TOW the happy anniversary? and TOW the natutulog n employee), the motolite commercial, and Robin’s liveraide commercial (it conveys a very positive message)… special mention goes out to the smidgets commercial… ever since i saw avenue Q, i have a soft spot for puppets…
• and still on the commercial side of things, i have a proposal for a Pacquiao commercial… this is for McDonalds, where Manny is an endorser… the commercial starts as Pacquiao is finishing an opponent… after his hands are raised, the crowd will chant his name, “MANNY, MANNY… then the chant will turn into “BURGER, BURGER”… the ad will end with Manny having a very confused look on his face… ayos dba… sa mga tiga ad agency ng McDo dyan, pwede nyo gamitin tong idea n ito…email nyo lang ako… hehe…
• i’m very fond of reading comments in web articles so i can’t help reading the comments in the article about pacman’s victory… i saw many comments saying he isn’t the best pound for pound, and he will lose boxers they mentioned, etc… bahala cla kung ano gusto nila sabihin… pero the fact is, manny’s speed is unmatchable… tapos his strength increased through out the years… he will be a force to be reckoned with sa lightweight division… plus, he is a certified money maker… and the opponents the commenters mentioned that will have a “hayday” against pacquiao, they will be the one begging pacman to fight with them…it will be their biggest payday they can get… and they will pay dearly for it… pacman will knock out all of them… as long as he stops doing unnecessary things like running for office or  making movies…

thanks pacman for giving us a glimmer of sunshine despite tragedies, crisis and hardships inthat befall the lives of us Filipinos… l8r dayz…

xs: one tragedy i hope the pacman fight helps easen up is the passing away of my tita Ining… please pray for the family she left behind…