Manny Pacquiao Is Not Superman

I must admit that in every Pacquiao fight, I want him to crush the opponent in 5 or 6 rounds.  My friends have the same expectation.  In my coworkers betting circle, Manny losing the bout is no longer the question.  It is just KO or UD. 

Well,  to those of us who followed Pacman's early boxing years, we are used to seeing him flattening his rivals.  The KO loss to Marquez in their fourth encounter last December 2012 was a shock to me and everyone else.  I remember the people in the crowd I was with that day looking at the big screen speechless.  Eery silence, really.  "Is Pacquiao dead?"  someone whispered.

April 2014 and we say that Pacquiao is back.  He didn't really lose that first fight with Bradley. But the latter couldn't sleep over it because many were saying that the American actually lost that fight.  And there was no other viable option for the Pacman.  The Rios fight was just a tuneup.  Marquez wanted to held on and savor his knockout victory for the longest time.  And Mayweather is always ducking the Filipino prizefighter.

Many online articles I read says that the Pacquiao of old hasn't exactly come back.  Well, I think they were referring to the reckless, rapid-firing, stone-fisted Pacquiao that can floor any challenger with one wicked blow.  Just like me, they think that Pacquiao is Superman.

But look at it this way.  His opponents now are in their comfortable fighting weight, not their deflated weights. They are also known to have solid chin and can take hard punches.  They are not paltry fighters but top-rated warriors. Sometimes, we expect too much from the warrior from Gensan. But I guess he is wiser now.  Punishing the opponent for 12 rounds is more cruel that knocking him out in 5 or 6 rounds. 

I am sure Bradley knows what hit him.  It wasn't Superman but the Pacman who gobbles up slowly his fighting psyche.