Manny Pacquiao
REALITY CHECK FOR BOTH BOXING & MMA FANS
San Francisco, CA– Boxing is fixed! Not saying Saturday’s Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley fight was, just the sport in general. I’m sure everyone saw how effortless Mosley acted between the ropes. Hey, people have been getting paid to lose fights since Don King had normal hair. Deservedly so, Manny was the favored fighter, some oddsmakers had it 8-1, which is an astronomical number for upper echelon boxing.
SHANE MOSLEY IS NOW AS OLD AS DIRT
Mosley, now 39 and a professional since losing to the late Vernon Forrest in the 1992 Olympic Trials, this long before dropping two lopsided 12-rounders and the welterweight (147 lbs) title to Vernon in 2002. He has a son taking up the sport now and he should no longer be in the ring, Shane its time to take a seat. Besides, with his slurring his words, experts I know say he is headed towards “Pugilistic Dementia,” or to us common folks, he’s getting “Punch Drunk
GOT MY ISSUES WITH THE PHILIPPINE ICON AS WELL!
Not a Manny Pacquiao fan at all, I can’t wait for him to get served with a loss. It’s funny how people get all hyped up about the Pacman, boxing, sports in general, when four or five years ago none of you had any boxing acumen or even an opinion to express. I remember the Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson fights in 1996 & 1997, the second AKA the “Bite Fight” in particular. Holyfield exposed Tyson as a one dimensional thug who couldn’t take a shot nearly as good as he gave.
THE GOLDEN ERA OF BOXING IS PASSE
I can remember crying a river of tears when Oscar De La Hoya lost to Tito Trinidad, and before that there was that Mexican beast the great Julio Cesar Chavez. Look, I understand that the Filipino people, that you all got pride, but boxing will never be the same as it was in the era of Tyson, Chavez, and Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns and Ray Leonard in the 80s. Reason being, much like Major League Baseball was in the 90s, boxing is now dealing with PEDS or Performance Enhancement Drugs.
BACK TO MANNY PACQUIAO
In just about any era, Manny Pacquiao would be considered a great fighter. He wouldn’t have had a chance with the aforementioned greats in Duran, Hearns, or Leonard, but outside of that group he would have been quite successful. When I said that boxing was fixed, I was alluding to the fact that I believe, in my opinion Pacquiao is not fighting fair. There are many people that think Manny has jacked his body up with red blood cells, also known as “Blood Doping” while training.
I WONDER WHY PACQUIAO BEATS UP BIGGER GUYS WITH EASE?
The extra blood cells from the use of EPO (Erithropoyetin) can increase your oxygen level anywhere from 30 to 45%. Of course, this allows you to train 45% harder, recover 45% faster, and thus perform 45% better. As somebody studying medicine, I’ve been told there is no perfected test to determine whether an athlete is on EPO. In the old days, before the steroid era, “Blood Doping” was done through transfusions. Until recently accurate testing has been difficult because the EPO made in the lab is virtually identical to the naturally occurring form and there are no firmly established normal ranges for EPO in the body.
ARE YOU SEEING WHERE I’M GOING HERE?
The bottom line is that none of us knows what goes on behind closed doors in a fighter’s training camp. Now, I’m not saying Manny didn’t deserve to win against the almost elderly for a boxer Mosley, who turns 40 in a few months, as he pitched a shutout on almost everybody’s scorecards. Pac’s a good man that has done a lot for his country, has a lot of faith in God and is without question a great fighter. But that still doesn’t change the fact that I think the sport of boxing is fixed.
Jacqueline R. Fernandez