Three months ago at about the same time Bob Arum announced that the next Manny Pacquiao challenger is Shayne Mosley, I had my sugar level checked.
Critical level. My doctor pressed the warning button. He told me not take sugar lightly. It’s a killer enemy. I nodded.
I took the warning all too seriously. I went on a sugar-free diet and practically avoided all the sweet things life could offer in the next three months.
Two days before Manny Pacquiao was to face Sugar Shayne Mosley, I had my sugar level checked again. Now, it was down three notches. That was a marked improvement. Three months of staying away as much as I can from anything sweet somehow paid off.
It ain’t easy getting rid of sugar especially when you’re used to it. But it was a decision I stood by in the same manner as I got rid of smoking. Sugar indeed is not an easy enemy. You know why? Because sugar or anything sweet is man’s best friend. You don’t want to hurt a friend. Much less get rid of a friend.
That is what exactly happened in the ring last Sunday in Las Vegas.
Manny went up against a man nicknamed Sugar. In boxing, not everyone gets to be nicknamed Sugar unless he is really good. Sugar Ray Robinson. Sugar Ray Leonard. And now Sugar Shayne Mosley. Even the expert of the sweet science of boxing goes by the name Bert Sugar and I assume that is either coincidence or that is his nom de guere.
My scientific mind tells me that in life and in boxing, sugar is not an easy enemy because it is sweet. Ever heard of the saying “the best things in life are free”? That has been challenged by the saying “the best things in life are sweet.”
Nothing in this is life is free. Mommy D would no longer settle for a paper bag these days. She already has a collection of Lowis Biton bags and now she is salivating on a Hermes. To her, that’s sweet. Life changes for everyone. Can’t blame her.
All of these my scientific mind tells me last Sunday that Sugar Shayne would not be an easy commodity for the Pacman. Indeed, he was not.
I had already an inkling something is not going to give on fight night. During the build up to the fight until the pre-fight press conference ad weigh-in, there were no sparks from both camps. There was just too much sweetness. Sugar Shayne had to turn Manny to his side for more photo ops. They looked more like sweethearts than combatants.
When they finally met in the ring, I expected some fireworks from both fighters. I thought they will unleash their angst finally when they face each other in the ring. I thought Shayne’s sweetness will translate into more energy. I was wrong.
Sorry, but this is not the best of Pacquiao fights I have seen. Collectively, Manny and Mosley were too sweet for comfort. Too much caution for a combat. Shayne was obviously scared from the very start. Manny was too shy to hurt Shayne. I thought the knockdown in the third would prod Manny to go for the kill after that. But he slowed down his attack. He was too cautious I thought too much of scientific boxing has made him lose his sting lately. He wasn’t as mobile as he could get. Not as feisty and ferocious until he was counted on a freak knockdown in the 10th.
My scientific mind is telling me, Manny could have fought more ferociously had he been sugar-free. By sugar-free I mean Manny should not have been too sweet to Sugar Shayne who I thought can be knocked down despite his immaculate record. He showed his angst after the freak knockdown—which tells me that he was overly cautious and is capable of letting it all loose. Shayne could go down had Manny got enough rounds left.
For ten rounds, Manny chose to fight as a segurista.
He did not force the issue of getting Mosley decked for the first time in his career even when his scientific mind tells him he can.
Nothing bad with that. In his scientific mind, Manny would also tell us boxing is not about killing your enemy.
Like a chocolate sculpture you would not want deformed, boxing can be sweetly deceiving. Just like your sugar level. After all, my scientific mind tells me the sweet things in life are risky.
Notes: Thanks to NCCC Mall, NCCC Department Store and Head and Shoulders for the live viewing of the Pacquiao-Mosley fight...Watch out for Kicksand Beach Football Series Davao Leg on June 11-12 at the Bluejaz Resort and Waterpark organized by the Beach Football Association of the Philippines and F1 Event Solutions, Inc.
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