Bare Eye
Who’s afraid of Old Man Oscar?
By Recah Trinidad
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:25:00 12/02/2008
Filed Under: Pacquiao, Boxing
MANILA, Philippines—Oscar De La Hoya may indeed look older than a wasted race horse, if you asked trainer Freddie Roach.
Oscar could, in fact, smell a lot worse, depending on Mr. Roach’s mood.
Remember how the two-time Trainer of the Year had the whole world laughing with that now-classic dig that Oscar “can no longer pull the trigger.”
Roach would next liken De La Hoya to a rusty, useless toy gun, which no fool would bother to own.
* * *
Until last week, Roach kept firing blasphemous blurbs in the direction of the Golden Boy’s camp at Big Bear.
Roach was having a feast with his witty retorts close to the final week of the Pacquiao-De La Hoya Dream Match.
He kept harking on the theme of a pistolero who could neither draw nor fire his gun.
* * *
Sorry, but this is no longer the case.
By Monday, the prevailing uncertainty at the Wild Card Gym could no longer be concealed.
For example, there was the surprising change in the Team Pacquiao departure for Las Vegas.
At first, they announced that the departure, originally set early Monday, had been pushed back.
They would instead leave at 3 p.m. Monday, bared a team insider.
* * *
It was next reported at philboxing.com that Roach would like to make last-minute adjustments.
Roach, it was said, would like to make Pacquiao put in extra rounds with the mitts, after discovering a new chink in De La Hoya’s armor via an old fight tape.
Anyway, before anxious reporters could settle down, there came a second announcement.
They said Pacquiao, playing it superstitious, has decided to drive to Las Vegas in his tested fashion.
He has opted for his Navigator, over the expensive, colorfully decorated and massive Team Pacquiao bus provided by promoter Bob Arum.
* * *
Well, who knows? Maybe this is all part of a ploy to confuse the enemy.
But then, there are those who have also started to doubt.
Why, they ask, all this frantic moves if the foe is indeed as old and wasted as Roach has pictured De La Hoya to be?
Of course, there is one great thing that has come out of all this uncertainty inside Team Pacquiao.
They could’ve also succeeded in turning Pacquiao instantly into a defensive demon.
* * *
It’s like this. There had been fears that Pacquiao was being made to over-emphasize on his attack, while foolishly overlooking defense.
This was readily dismissed by trainer-nutritionist Nonoy Neri who, on Friday, assured the Philippine Daily Inquirer that Pacquiao has been killing himself in trying to build up a solid armor.
While Pacquiao’s defense had often been suspect in past big fights, Neri has ascertained that the Filipino boxing superhero could just stun everybody—mainly De La Hoya—with his new-found defensive weapon.
* * *
Of course, it’s also worth pondering if Pacquiao was being made to work extra rounds at Wild Card in order to correct a fault Angelo Dundee generously exposed.
Dundee noted that Pacquiao, much like Hitman Tommy Hearns, never fails to take a step in throwing a big punch.
Dundee, who will be teaming up with Nacho Beristain for the Golden Boy team, warned that Pacquiao would be shredded raw by De La Hoya if he fails to correct this awful flaw.
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