With the
referee-stopped-contest TKO, Pacquiao collected his seventh boxing
crown in seven weight divisions, a world record. And there’s
absolutely no possibility for that record to be broken. Firstly,
Pacman’s peers in the six-titles, six-divisions column are either
retired or near retirement. They are Oscar de la Hoya, Tommy Hearns,
Hector Calma, and James Toney. And secondly, the present crop of
champions could snatch no more than three additional championships.
Ask Alex Vidal.
I leave the details of
the annihilation to the sports writers. However, I would just like to
share some thoughts on the fight, which should not detract from the
impressive win of The Pacman.
As with his recent
opponents in the square ring, Manny Pacquiao’s had an anesthetic
effect on Cotto. They all climbed the ring deathly serious, wide-eyed,
and dry lipped. This nervousness, nay, fear, slowed their blood flow
and numbed their arms and legs. Thus, they became easy targets what
with the speed and power of The Pacman.
Manny, of course, was
their exact opposite. He was totally at ease and even acknowledged
those he recognized seconds before introducer Michael Buffer boomed
his famous “Let’s get ready to rumble” line.
And second, we must
remember that Cotto is a natural 147-pounder, the maximum weight limit
in the welterweight division as defined by the four major sanctioning
boxing bodies, namely the World Boxing Association (WBA) a 1962
spin-off of the National Boxing Association formed in 1921, World
Boxing Council (WBC) established in 1963, International Boxing
Federation (IBF) established in 1983, and World Boxing Organization (WBO)
established in 1988.
It seems that Bob Arum
fits the role of Shylock in the Merchant of Venice. Note that the
promoter Arum wagged the color of money to Cotto on the condition that
he agrees to slug it out with Pacquiao at the catch (agreed maximum)
weight of 145 pounds. The former hesitantly consented to shed two
pounds of pure muscle. Just imagine how much strength and punching
power Cotto lost with that lost poundage.
On the other hand,
Pacquiao had the golden opportunity to gain weight, and therefore,
more power provided the added poundage is pure muscle. Hence, the
necessity of a thoroughly serious physical training and proper
nutrition, which Manny is incapable of unless given the reality
therapy by his coach, now “Master,” Freddie Roach.
The same is true for
Pacman’s victim Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton. The latter had to give up
some muscle pounds to meet their fight catch weight of 140 pounds
while Pacman did not have any problem at all. In fact, he was only all
of 138 pounds during the weigh-in. And the result? The dehydrated
Hatton fell asleep even before hitting the canvass when Pacman
uncorked a brutal left hook to his jaw.
So on both instances,
Bob Arum got his “pound of flesh.”
By the way, Hatton is
no pizza. In 2005, the Britisher was named the Ring Magazine Fighter
of the Year. Two years later, Hatton was knighted by Queen Elizabeth
II as she named the boxer a Member of the Order of the British Empire
(MBE).
For fighting Cotto,
Pacquiao was assured $13 million, which translates to P 611 million at
the exchange rate of 47 pesos to one American dollar. From this
amount, you add his share of the Pay Per View revenue which should
total at least $100 million. And that’s the PPV gross income from the
United States alone. Pacman’s share of this large pie is a minimum of
30 percent or $30 million. In Philippine pesos, that will be
P1,410,000,000.00 (or in short, P1.410 billion)!
In sum, Manny is
entitled to a MINIMUM P2.21 billion for one day in the office.
If you want to belabor
the issue, Manny’s pay per round is equivalent to P184.2 million or
P61.4 million per minute!
In his last two
matches (against Oscar de la Hoya and Hatton), The Pacman pocketed at
least $30 million.
Manny the billionaire,
indeed, has got the money.
