Watching Manny Pacquiao chase and pepper Miguel Cotto relentlessly with his punches just amazed me no end as to the power and speed that the Filipino world-class boxer displayed before the world to see.
Even Cotto later, after the fight, admitted that “he didn’t know where the punches (of Pacquiao) were coming”, as he surrendered his World Boxing Organization welterweight crown before Pacquiao.
Pacquiao bagged the WBO welterweight title belt in the 12th as the referee declared a Technical Knockout (TKO) win for the Filipino, winning an unprecedented seventh world boxing championship in seven different weight divisions.
He has already cemented his place in world boxing’s immortality and Hall of Fame with his string of successes in the ring.
I personally think Pacquiao only needs to conquer one more “mountain of a hurdle” in American former world champion Floyd Mayweather, after which our prized Filipino fighter could hang up his gloves for good and concentrate on his family and growing kids.
At 30, (he’s turning 31 on December 8), Pacquiao has exceeded all expectations—winning and beating the world-class boxers Mexico has to offer—Erik Morales, David Diaz, Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antomnio Barrera and Oscar dela Hoya. And just last May, he added a Briton in his growing list of world-class victims by knocking out United Kingdom’s champion Ricky Hatton in just two quick rounds.
Pacquiao has graced the TIME Magazine’s Asia edition cover recently, where the globally popular magazine ran a five-page article on his life and boxing ring exploits.
I was telling my friends after watching the fight online (just bits of it) that Pacquiao’s 12th-round TKO win was a timely victory that could inspire millions of Filipinos who were affected directly by the two raging typhoons recently (Ondoy and Pepeng), which battered Metro Manila and much of Northern Luzon.
Pacquiao, the rags to riches, hardship-to-overcoming life, is a story worth telling to everyone—for every person who is going through some kind of struggle can always learn a lesson or two about bouncing back strong in the midst of life’s difficulties.
Mabuhay ka Manny! Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!
Photo Source: http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20091115/i/r1850487539.jpg