I am still pretty pumped from the performance Manny Pacquiao put on last night. To have watched him grow from the one handed fighter that beat Barrera to the fighter I saw last night is just unbelievable. For a long time all he was able to do was use his left hand and occassionally a right hand would go out. Then last night it was like everything he ever worked on came together. His combinations were beautiful, his balance was great, his speed was on point, his punches were accurate. He looked like a totally better fighter than the one who barely beat Juan Manuel Marquez in March. Many people will say Diaz was not that good of a fighter. Whatever! Diaz was a good fighter, but however you cut it Manny Pacquiao is a great fighter. His legacy was certainly cemented last night. Pacquiao came out and dominated the fight from the opening bell. He did not get hit much and executed his game plan to perfection. I have never seen him fight better than I did last night. If he wanted to retire (I hope he doesn't yet) then he is a first ballot Hall of Famer without a doubt. He has won belts in 4 different divisions and although in his first fight against Barrera there was not belt, he was the Champion at 126. Therefore he has been Champion in five different divisions. Pacquiao looked like a complete fighter last night. I give Pacquiao a lot of credit as well as Freddie Roach. Pacquiao is Roach's prized possession. He believed in Pacquiao when not many people knew who he was. Roach may not have gotten James Toney, Mike Tyson, or Oscar De La Hoya to get on point like he wanted, but he has gotten Manny Pacquiao to do it. They are both comfortable with each other and you can see it. If you want to talk about molding a one dimensional fighter into a complete fighter then you start with Freddie Roach working with Manny Pacquiao. What Pacquiao did last night was simply a wonderful piece of boxing. When Floyd Mayweather Jr. would fight, I expected him to be masterful. I had seen him develop so I knew he had the skills. However Pacquiao looked like he would be good but not have the great piece in his collection. Well he has the great piece in his collection now and we all saw it last night in his masterful performance. Manny Pacquiao is now the #1 Pound 4 Pound fighter in the world and thus far he is the fighter of the year for 2008. I am about to go watch the fight again.
4 comments:
Hell of a fight, thats why he is #1 on my pound 4 pound list.
Clean Mike my man, I moved Manny up to #1 without a doubt right away. I wanted to wait until this fight to see if he should be #1. He not only should be but he is. He was totally dominant in this fight.
I was surpised myself how easily he swept the rounds on my cards, he is the most exciting in boxing right now.
Yeah he totally dominated. Honestly speaking Diaz's corner should have stopped the fight at the end of the 5th. At that point it was totally obvious he was outclassed with no chance for a comeback. He took way too much punishment. Pacquiao is one of those extremely gifted fighters you do not see often. He has improved so much from just 2 years ago. I am very proud of the progress he has made as a fighter. He is the best fighter that is active.
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