Only two forces can send Manny Pacquiao crashing down to defeat in his Nov.l 14 bout.
The most obvious are the two potent fists of Boricua Banger Miguel I’m No Angel Cotto.
Less obvious but perhaps more threatening to Pacman’s string of phenomenal ring success are what seem to be piling up more than the abundant strawberry crops in and around Baguio, the Philippine city where he is training.
Distractions.
Maybe I’m being a nitcpiker or a worry wort, I don’t know. But if trainer Freddie Roach is bugging out, then every man, woman and child in Pacland has cause to do the same.
May I call your attention, Pacnuts, to an insightful piece by Naptown Examiner dSource GMoney on the special chemistry which flows between Pupil Pacquiao and Tutor Roach?
I could care less about eyewitness reports, most of the breathless, about sparring partner Shawn Porter, a genuine middleweight, knocking his employer, Megamanny, from pillar to post. (Btw, GMA reports that, on Saturday, Pacman impressed in sparring with Porter, thumping him like a bass drum.)
Sparring is practice like a scrimmage is in Amerian football. Notice I did not mention basketball but we’ll get to hoops shortly since that is also proving to be a distraction in Baguio.
It doesn’t really matter if Pacman “wins” his sparring rounds. It’s not the goal of the fighter or of Coaach Roach to go to war in each and every sparring round. Quite often, those rounds are for trying out a different technique.
Sparring is just the carpenter sharpening his saw. It’s not necessary for Pacman to decpapitate his sparmates every afternoon.
Shooting hoops might seem harmless for Manny but is it? What if he slips and trips, what if he lands on his face driving the lane and injures either of both of his famous hands?
No, Coach Roach, the loyal Boston Celtics fan, is right in putting the total kibosh on Manny’s pickup games.
Pacman can run the court all he wants after his mission is completed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Here's an area where Packy could take a useful tip from Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mayweather, while training for Juan Manuel Marquez, went out to the roller skating rink with his daughter but he wasn't playing Roller Ferby games there on a daily basis. L'il Floyd just did a little skating for publicity purposes.
The problem with mentioning possible distractions is the those around Pacquiao quickly reort with the cliché answer about how he thrives on unrest and disorder swirling around him, about he enjoys his non boxing activities as a refuge from the daily boxing grind.
But consider all that is on Manny’s mind beyond the redoubtable Cotto…
I, for one, think this time around something is different, that there is too much on the Pacquiao Plate.
Political plans with the election coming up next May in Sarangani…
Endless speculation about a mega bout against Floyd Mayweather which cannot be completely blocked out by Manny’s hyperactive mind…
Making musical plans for his postfight (we hope) victory party in Vegas…
Getting invoved in aiding his kababayans who have been hit hard by typhoons recently, providing a big financial contribution and emotional support…
Keeping up to speed on his show business affairs, his movie, his TV show, his newspaper column, his commercial deals…
Did I leave anything out?
Meanwhile, down in Tampa, Cotto is firmly focused.
Cotto eats, sleeps and breathes Manny Pacquiao.
Cotto can beat Pacquiao, Roach isn’t just selling “wolf tickets” in saying so.
But I wonder if Manny’s many distractions will do half of Cotto’s rugged task for him.
Sure, I’m reading tea leaves like Madame Auring.
But that’s not sweet milk at the bottom of the Manny teacup.
It could be a noxious brew and a real tonic for Cotto.
Source: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-5699-NY-Boxing-Examiner~y2009m10d3-Pacquiaos-plate-overloaded-distractions-boost-Cotto
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