WE have never been into sports writing. That venture properly belongs to our friend, Alex Vidal.

But suffice to say, something from the recesses of our subconscious rebels and refuses to die down unless we wrote it – the Pacquiao – De La Hoya match, rather, mismatch.

Pacquiao exites, all his fights fire up the country, Pinoys worldwide included. Wherever his bouts are, Pinoy crowds, if not the dominant ones, are highly conspicuous.

However, something awry is happening as December 6 looms, the date the Pcman is to meet the Golden Boy for the non-title “Dream Match” in the 147-pound slot.

We hate to say this but we are constrained to note that the Pambansang Kamao we have today has new match, The Emperor Who Wears No Clothes in one fairy tale.

The grapevine says that Pacquiao is blessed with countless innocent boys who remark that he is naked and had no clothes at all but he acts like the proverbial emperor impervious to the counsels of people who care for him on one hand, and on the other, he listens only to charlatans tricking him his attires are fantastic.

He appears to be in an indefinite state of trance, he is under the charm or spell of two persons all non-Filipinos, the grapevine says, his trainer Freddie Roach among them.

The hooplah that would always preceded all Pacguiao matches are visibly absent in the looming Pacquiao – De La Hoya fight. Pacquiao no longer excites; he no longer stirs public hysteria that he used to. There is one close to that, his homecoming after his rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez where he bagged the super featherweight crown. Organizers expected a hysteric welcome. None of that happened. Perhaps, Filipinos doubted their hero’s victory over Marquez.

The public who have ceased to be excited became sports critics. And it’s not uncommon to hear them that the Pacquiao – De La Hoya fight is not only a mismatch but a racket as well, a $100-million windfall with Pacquiao taking a quarter thereof, $20 million win or loss.

De La Hoya at 5′11” will be towering over Pacquiao, 5”6”. He showed his mettle in his last fight, against Floyd Mayweather touted as “best pound for pound” in the world. Viewers, the overwhelming majority held that he could have clinched a unanimous victory only that the judges saw differently and went for Mayweather who had the reputation for sending great champions kissing the canvass.

De La Hoya should have challenged Kelly Pavlik the reigning WBC and WBO middleweight champion and not the Filipino ring icon. On the other hand, Pacquiao should have taken a rematch with Juan Miguel Marquez, now world lightweight champion, if only to clear once and for all that his super featherweight belt did not come from judges who were strangers to arithmetic.

The Pacman has wiggle himself from people who snared him into the hypnotic trance that he is wearing elegant clothes when he has none at all.

The grapevine has unflattering comments on those advisers. One story says that Freddie Roach has become grumpy and highhanded. He throws his weight around. At one time, a Fil-Am, Greg Asuncion who is close to the Pacman, once talked with the boxer to back out from the fight. Roach, the same source says, beat him up threw out the guest from the gym.

The Fil-Am had to go to the hospital for treatment.

Alex Vidal, himself, our friend and eminent sports writer, had a taste of the Roach tantrum. He wrote once that Roach might have been “sick” after missing the corner in the fight of North American super bantamweight champion Bernabe Concepcion. Vidal based his story from a source in team Concepcion.

It did not sit well with Pacman’s trainer who angrily confronted Vidal in Pacquiao’s training camp. Why did you right that article, my mom was very upset by what you did, or so grumbled Roach. Vidal faced him off and promptly flicked away Roache’s hand that attempted to grab him by the collar.

Luckily, Pacman’s physician, an Ilonggo who lives in South Cotabato, pushed each away, preventing what otherwise could have been a spectacle.

4 Responses to “Mismatch Pacman vs Golden Boy”

• 1
  juanbalatan
  December 8th, 2008 01:43

  sino ngayon ang nakakahiya??
• 2
  juanbalatan
  December 8th, 2008 01:50

  daldal kayo ng daldal,,kala nyo alam nyo na ang lahat!!!! nakakahiya kayo!!!
  sabagay, salamat narin sa mga balitang tago na inilantad nyo,, pero sana maging aral narin ito sa inyo na iwasan nyo ang masyadong maging maispikulasyon para lang me maisulat kayo,, kaya tuloy kahiya hi ang labas nyo!!!
• 3
  danny
  December 8th, 2008 20:55

  Tama ka Mr. Melliza, mismatch nga ang laban!!!
• 4
  danny
  December 8th, 2008 20:59

  This is a perfect example of why I don’t believe in the so-called predictions of so-called opinion writers cum sports analyst.

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