Boxing Journal 4-12-14

  

Wait, what?  How is this happening again?  I’m not even a boxing fan.  If I want to watch guys hitting each other, I’ll watch hockey, where they fight for real and on ice.  Boxing isn’t even my second choice for that matter, I’d rather watch UFC instead.  Granted I might end up watching some horrific spectacle that leaves me scarred for life or, alternatively, see a “fight” that only lasts 23 seconds, but I figure UFC gives me about a 30% chance of an entertaining fight.  With Boxing, I’m not even getting those odds. 

I blame peer pressure.  There are people at work watching, and I need to keep up (since I’m not joining any of their football pools).  There’s also the small matter of not getting any Saturday afternoon baseball leaving a gaping hole in my life.  A man will grab a cactus if he’s falling off a cliff.

Once again, here’s the next “big” fight: Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao versus Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley, the Re-match.  Jdh “Never Gets to See a Good Fight” 417 saw their first bout where Bradley won in a rigged, err… I mean split decision.  Because of that travesty, I missed Pacquiao’s next fight, which featured him hitting the canvass like a sack of flour.  It’s almost like they knew I wasn’t watching.

The undercard, which I watched intermittently as there was a movie on another station I wanted to see, featured some guy repeatedly running his head into the other guy’s chest.  I was not surprised he didn’t win, even with his unorthodox tactics.

For the walkout, Pacquiao looked genuinely happy to be there.  The crowd was overwhelmingly on his side (and presumably had money on him).  Bradley was getting something between a “boo” and indifferent silence.  I’ve seen Philadelphia Phillies home games like that.

Here’s Michael Buffer introducing the fighters, “Fighting out of the blue corner for the pride, the honor, and the glory of Mexico. . .”  “I’m from the Philippines!” Manny Pacquiao shouts out.  Buffer seems confused by a major fight that doesn’t involve a Mexican boxer, but continues on.  Bradley, in turn, drinks in the crowd’s overwhelming apathy towards him.  Though they’re in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand, that American flag he’s flying does not help him here.         

From here, my notes go into round-by-round commentary.  What was I thinking?  Do you know how much trouble it is to type something out from my crappy, handwritten notes?  This is almost like when I keep a scorecard for a baseball game.  What if I actually start keeping a judge’s fight card and counting punches?  I will need help at that point.  Somebody please stage an intervention.

1^st Round: The boxers looked about evenly matched in height, weight, build, and enthusiasm.  They came out flying, with lively, hyper punching.  The TV Azteca announcers were eating this up as the crowd chanted out Pacquiao’s name.  I like the TV Azteca coverage crew.  If I had the option of listening to this in English, I’d still pick these guys.  The Tecate Girls bumper commercials between rounds, don’t hurt either. 

2^nd Round: Bradley is staggered under Pacquiao’s onslaught, but still standing.

3^rd Round: After two frenetic rounds, both fighters are looking a little worn out.

4^th Round: The pace is still slow.  Bradley got in a very effect counterattack with a massive right to Pacquiao’s head. 

5^th Round: The fighters are showing some wariness.  Bradley starts trying to play some mind games with some taunting.

6^th Round: Bradley gets pinned to the ropes by Pacquiao, but is saved by the bell. 

7^th Round: Bradley comes out swinging.  They both look tired.  Anger and professionalism are now driving them more than their physical conditioning.  Bradley goes into the ropes again.  The crowd and the announcers go crazy in anticipation of a Pacquiao victory, but the fight continues. 

8^th Round: The fighters became tentative again, feeling each other out.  Bradley is again staggered at one point.

9^th Round: Bradley is knocked into the ropes by what looks like an elbow and a push, and almost lays out on the canvas.  His taunting has ceased by this point.

10^th Round: Interesting condom commercial preceding this round.  One couple is having sex during a stampede, while another couple is doing it in a flooded rowboat out on a lake.  I’m not sure I get the symbolism of the rowboat couple, perhaps they were using another brand and it leaked.  They still seemed to be enjoying themselves though.  Back at the fight, the combatants clinch with one another repeatedly, like they were watching that commercial too, though exhaustion is the more likely cause.  They both get their shots in fairly evenly.

11^th Round: The fighters come out dancing now, their attacks are a little more focused.  Bradley seems to get in a couple of good, hard shots.

12^th Round: This is almost a repeat of the first round’s frenzied melee.  Bradley is again driven into the ropes, but Pacquiao gets the worst of it.  He receives a cut over his left eye right before the end of the fight.  The referee momentarily delays the ending so that Pacquiao can be treated.  The fight resumes with ten seconds to go and finally ends with both men going at each other in a berserker fury.  Both are still standing at the final bell and the fight ends.  Thank goodness, because I’m out of adjectives.

The Decision: The judges unanimously give it to Pacquiao.  It’s the correct decision.  Pacquiao’s mom enters the ring to congratulate Bradley for a good fight, at least that’s how I’m going to interpret it.  They were indeed evenly matched, but Pacquiao had the better fight this time.  Next time, who knows?  My personal decision, while it was a pretty entertaining fight, my streak of not seeing a knockout remains unbroken.  At least there wasn’t some sort of bizarre controversy attached to the match to make a joke of it. 

In the post fight interview, that gash over Pacquiao’s eye had swelled up like a bloody walnut.  Very ugly to look at.  He was lucky that the fight ended when it did. 

“It’s part of the game,” said the Mexican interviewer in awkward English.

“It’s nothing,” replied Pacquiao.