Well, it was a good boxing weekend. We saw Manny Pacquiao became world champion again. He did not just get out of that short retirement but came back and wrote another fate in boxing history books. The first fighting senator of the sport of boxing! What an achievement to add Pacman's unbelievable boxing career.
Manny Pacquiao vs. Jessie Vargas
Pacquiao (59-6-2, 38 KO's) won a unanimous decision over 10 years junior Jessie Vargas (27-2, 10 KOs) in a 12-round welterweight championship bout at the Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. It was an entertaining fight yet lack of explosiveness towards the end.
Although in the second round scored a knockdown, it is obvious that the 37-year-old former congressman and now senator Pacquiao was too cautious. According to Juan Manuel Marquez, in an interview, Pacquiao fought too cautious against Vargas who mastered a counter right hand.
It was a counter right hand from Marquez that put to sleep Pacquaio during their fourth encounter. According to Marquez, Vargas is not a hard puncher. But when Vargas hit Pacquiao with a right hand, the Pacman staggers. The knockout changed the style of Pacquiao who is known to fight relentlessly especially to a less powerful opponents. Vargas came in with only 10 TKO/KO wins on his ledger.
Well, I couldn't agree more with Marquez. Vargas really just missed several powerful counter-right hands. A counter punch that Vargas for sure practiced during training camp hoping to land a Marquez-alike counter that would stop the Pacman.
Well, Pacquiao was very much looking too much attention to that counter right hand. Even during the Bradley fight, I noticed that Pacquiao was very conscious of the right hand throughout the fight. It's not Vargas fired with less accuracy but it was Pacquiao too mindful about the right hand and avoided them effectively.
Apart from Pacquiao being too cautious, I noticed that Pacquiao is still the same vintage Pacquiao. He still has that speed at age 37, still has power with the left hand. He still has that quickness in both hands, fast footwork, and impressive stamina. Pacquiao was able to maintain those even reporting to his day job as senator and training in the evening in the early days of training camp.
In another interview also, Marquez predicted that a Pacquiao-Mayweather rematch will have the same result as the first time. He said that "it would be more of the same," referring to the outcome of the first fight.
"Mayweather boxing, and you saw Manny was more eager, had more power but did nothing, said Marquez.
The scorecards: Glenn Feldman 118-109, Glenn Trowbridge 118-109, Dave Moretti 114-113
Nonito Donaire Jr. vs Jessie Magdaleno
I watched the replay of the fight. I was not able to watch it live because I woke up late. Just woke up just in time with the main event that Sunday morning Kuwait time. Well, I had no doubt that of course Magdaleno (24-0, 17 KOs) won the fight. I thought Magdaleno controlled the fight, dictated the tempo, he chose when to engage and not to engage Donaire. He did make use of the entire ring to find advantage position and angle to fire offense without worrying that the vaunted Donaire counter left hook lands a home run.
But what I don't agree with or am not convinced about is the scoring. I thought that was a close fight than what the official scorecards appeared. I mean, two things you have to weigh-in in that fight; the telling effects of the Donaire's punches or Magdaleno's jab, bodywork, and generalship. Well, I'll give those rounds to Donaire where he was able to connect more than two clean telling punches. Remember that Donaire was the champion and he was the aggressor the whole night. That for me would negate Magdaleno's ring generalship.
But of course, what was the problem with Donaire's performance was his tendency to wait for an opponent's move for so long... looking for counter opportunities. In the process of waiting he was hit first, then reset... then he will be hit again... then reset... till he lands one. But the opponent got him twice or thrice already.
The scorecards: Steve Weisfeld 116-112, Burt A. Clements 116-112, Adalaide Byrd 118-110.
That 118-110 was way too wide a margin for me.
I found the below video on Youtube and embedded it here:
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