CONGRESSMAN Manny Pacquiao scored a knockout over an absent opponent in the last elections. If it were in boxing, that should’ve been properly ruled a no-contest.
Pacquiao claimed his second term as member of the House of Representatives for the Province of Sarangani unopposed, while his wife Jinkee was elected vice governor after swamping obscure opposition.
Meanwhile, it could not be determined when Pacquiao, 34, would get back on the road for his scheduled comeback fight in November.
If Pacquiao had, say, been pushed to the limit in the previous polls, that could’ve had in a way also served as tune-up for his fight against the younger Brandon Rios.
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It’s like this. Based on the respective styles and brawling appetites of both Pacquiao and Rios, the bout in Macau this November should be a sure-fire thriller.
Definitely not a bore, claimed Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach, who had called the welterweight clash between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Robert Guerrero a first-class lullaby.
Roach has vowed a resounding KO win for Pacquiao against the younger Rios, who recently suffered his first defeat after being outpointed by Mike Alvarado in a world welterweight title clash.
“Manny doesn’t have to go there to chase a runner,” Roach told the famous Lem Satterfield. “Manny’s going to outbox him.”
Roach had also been quoted as saying a Pacquiao win by knockout in his comeback assignment “is clear as day.”
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Before the Rios assignment, there had been talks about a Pacquiao-Alvarado fight.
Maybe Roach had already started drafting battle plans against the big, strong and swift Alvarado.
But the sudden confidence of the celebrated Hall-of-Fame trainer is clearly being fueled by the caliber of Pacquiao’s next opponent.
Rios, notorious for tardiness, faded rapidly in that bout against Alvarado, whom he had stopped in the eighth round of their first encounter.
Roach could’ve also wondered why promoter Bob Arum provided Pacquiao a clearly inferior foe.
The assignment against the inconsistent and predictable Rios clearly showed how Arum rates the Pinoy boxing superhero after he was knocked out cold by Juan Manuel Marquez last December.
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Like it or not, the Rios assignment will also serve to measure how much is left of Pacquiao, the original Pacific Storm.
Roach has been saying his prized ward is not finished yet, despite back-to-back losses last year.
The way Roach had sounded, he would also use the Rios fight to detect any sign of slippage.
OK, there’s no question Pacquiao, given the time, can recover his mythical punching speed and power.
But didn’t Roach notice an eerie sign in that loss against Marquez—mainly in that third-round knockdown—that was capped by the horrible sixth-round stoppage?
Maybe somebody should be frank and caring enough to warn that Pacquiao, no thanks to the years, could no longer take as much as he lustily dishes out.