JGL Eye

By Joseph G. Lariosa

C HICAGO, Illinois (JGLi) – A few days after waking up from his sweat dreams, British champion Ricky Hatton still could not figure out what Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) hit him in the ring.

Even seasoned sports journalists were thrown off and were lost in translation in describing what power punch Manny Pacquiao launched from “Mars” that rocked Hatton’s glass jaw in the second round that sent him to dreamland.

Most journalists called it a “left hook.”

Thanks to instant replay, on suggestion of an e-mail casual contact, I found out that most journalists got it all wrong.

I don’t blame these journalists. Most of the reigning world boxing champions like Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Mike Tyson or Oscar De La Hoya, who had occupied much of the public imagination, were orthodox boxers. This means in their stance or guard position, their right hands are the rear hands. When they throw their rear hands from their chin, crossing the body and traveling towards the target in straight line, this punch is called “right cross” or “right straight.”

But in the case of Manny, who is an unorthodox boxer or a southpaw, when he connected with his right hand to Ricky in the semi-circular punch in the first round that dropped Ricky to the canvass, the punch was a right hook.

When Manny threw his left rear hand in straight line to the chin of Hatton in the second round, the punch is called a “left cross” or “left straight,” not a “left hook.” It was the punch that knocked out Hatton flat on his back for a few minutes.

The phrase, “left cross,” was a very familiar punch to Filipinos from the fifties and into the seventies when Gabriel “Flash” Elorde ruled the junior-lightweight division for nearly 10 years.

Like Manny, Mr. Elorde was also an unorthodox boxer or a southpaw.

After Mr. Elorde retired in 1971, seven years before Pacquiao was born, the words “left cross” had never seen print again in Philippine newspapers. The most familiar punches mentioned in boxing stories afterwards were the “jabs” and “left hooks.” Thanks to orthodox boxers, like Muhammad Ali, George Foreman or Mike Tyson, etc.

FULLFILLMENT OF UNFINISHED BUSINESS

An uncrowned featherweight champion, after he beat then reigning world featherweight champion Sandy Saddler in a non-title fight, Flash Elorde tried to climb the 135-pound world lightweight division when he was 29. But he twice lost in his title bids to then Puerto Rican reigning champion Carlos Ortiz.

That’s why, when Manny beat David Diaz to claim the world lightweight championship last year, it was a fulfillment of Elorde’s unfinished business.

When Manny added unprecedented the WBC flyweight, IBF super bantamweight, WBC super featherweight titles under his belt, Manny took over the mantle from Elorde, who was named in 1974 by the WBC as “the greatest world junior lightweight boxing champion.”

It was an icing in his cake when he defeated Hatton last Saturday (May 2) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, that let him collect two more titles – the junior welterweight and the IBO super lightweight division.

With Manny now on top of the world as the undisputed pound-for-pound champion, the only question left is, how long can Manny defend those titles?

Both Manny and Elorde started amateur boxing at the age of 16.

While Elorde ended his professional career at the age of 36 when his career was in decline, will the 30-year-old Kibawe, Bukidnon, native stay that long like the Bogo, Cebu, native?

Or will Manny consider retirement now that he has run out of challenges? Retirement is now the best option for Manny so he leaves the ring as an undefeated champion.

Flash Elorde died at a young age of 49 of lung cancer after failing to kick his smoking habit.

KICKING GAMBLING HABIT

W ill Manny be able to kick his own gambling (cockfighting) habit as well so he will not be losing the millions of dollars that he tried very hard to earn and become a successful businessman as a boxing promoter like Oscar De La Hoya?

If he plans to be a promoter and put up his own boxing gym to develop futures boxers like Elorde, Manny can now take over as his own promoter in his next fight, after all, he is a quick understudy.

In my video taped interview in Chicago with his promoter, Bob Arum, before the Pacquiao-De La Hoya Dream March last Dec. 6, Mr. Arum told me that De La Hoya would get 68% of the sharing of the proceeds of the fight. Manny would get 32% because De La Hoya at that time was a bigger box office draw than Manny.

If Manny beat De La Hoya, Mr. Arum said, this sharing would be reversed because Manny would be the bigger draw than De La Hoya.

For some reason, after knocking out De La Hoya, Manny did not get the sharing promised him by Mr. Arum when Mr. Arum agreed with Ricky Hatton to split 50-50 the revenue with Manny in the Battle of East and West last May 2nd.

Now that Manny knocked out Hatton in the second round, will Mr. Pacquiao get the 68-%-32-% sharing in revenues Mr. Arum had promised him in his next fights?