Pacquiao's Professionalism, Patience and Prayers

The euphoria created by Manny Pacquiao's sensational triumph over the courageous David Diaz, may have concealed a little known peril that the Filipino prizefighter must have sensed, even before he walked into the ring: an ambush that would have robbed him of the title and disappoint the 81 million countrymen he carries on his shoulders each time he lays his life on the line. There may have been attempts to extract a bigger payoff by scoring the bout in favor of the 4 to 1 underdog if the fight went the distance. The official ring physician is from Nevada, the referee also from the same state, as with the 3 judges at ringside. Pacquiao knew he may be walking into a trap, but it was too late to turn back.

It was Pacquiao's professional maturity as a pugilist that overcame whatever threat may have been intentionally laid out against his quest. He was focused and determined to end the fight with no questions nor doubts about its outcome. He followed the strategy zealously, crafted by his handlers after an excellent scouting and study of his opponent. The raging bull, who at times would surge with misdirected flurry of punches when hurt, became a matador who was scientific, methodical, and clinical. He gave the badly outclassed Diaz a painful boxing lesson by executing punches with deadly accuracy, landing 180 power punches that used his opponents' face for pinpoint target practice. The lion in Diaz, a big cat with intense ferocity, lost one life for each stage of the savage 9 round battering.

A closer scrutiny of the actuations of the ring physician in the 4th and 6th rounds gives an uneasy feeling. The swabs used to apply the petroleum jelly to stop bleeding was swallowed by the wound itself, indicating the depth of the injury and the danger it would pose for the fighter. Pacquiao himself slowed down in the 7th, picking his punches patiently and even looking at the wounds he inflicted. He asked the referee if the fight would continue, apparently realizing it should be stopped. But he was dismissed. There may have been hopes that Diaz could get a lucky punch or get away with a headbutt and last the distance, enough to call the fight at least a draw. The referee would be slow in breaking clinches as if giving Diaz the chance to strike. But Pacquiao guarded himself well. His prayers carried him through.

Pacquiao made history with this win. He is the only Asian, only Filipino, and only one of nine boxers to win championships in 4 different weight divisions. It has been a history soaked in blood. To his credit, Diaz kept the tricks away from the main stage, although he managed to pull off an elbow into Pacquiao's face a couple of times. Pacquiao poured it on in the 8th, and finished it off in the 9th with a perfectly timed and positioned left hook to the right face of Diaz on a downward trajectory. The blow sent Diaz head turning in 3 directions before falling like an empty sack to the canvas. Yet, Pacquiao returned to lift him up after the count fearing he may have harmed him too much in the process; before running to his corner to kneel in tearful prayer of thanks for his victory.

The brutality of this sport is enough to consider it unfit for a civilized society; yet the lust for blood while watching two human beings rearrange each other's face, break each other's bones or crack the opponent's skull, and tear up their internal organs, is taken as fun and entertainment. But the worst are those who continue to manipulate results by nonchalantly gambling with the lives of others and expect to profit from it. A vicious portrayal of man's inhumanity to man.

Haaarrrrrwwwwk...Twoooooooph...Ting!

Photos courtesy of Getty Images and Yahoo Sports- AP