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    Happy endings rare in boxing. Here's hoping Pacquiao finds one

    Happy endings rare in boxing. Here's hoping Pacquiao finds one
    Jul 16, 2018
    Manny Pacquiao upon his arrival in General Santos on Monday night.
    PHOTO: Wendell Alinea
    spin zone

    CHICAGO - In a fit of patriotic rage, Manny Pacquiao punched his way back to the boxing limelight last Sunday, delighting millions of Filipinos, including president Duterte who watched the rampage from a VIP box at the Axiata Arena.

    After a 378-day layoff, the conventional wisdom was for Pacquiao to start slow against Lucas Matthysse and ease his mildly rusted body slowly back into the violent flow of his sport.

    But to know Pacquiao is to understand that the southpaw has always been unconventional. He throws punches in odd angles, in sheer volume, and he can occasionally be reckless, a trait that is savagely endearing to blood-thirsty fight fans.

    So when measured aggression was recommended against a dangerous foe with 36 knockouts in 39 wins, Pacquiao stormed out of his corner swinging instead. The sitting senator from General Santos stood in front of a jolted foe and got busy even before the echos of the opening bell had stopped ringing.

    Using a plump uppercut mainly as a blunt force weapon, Pacquiao forced Matthysse to surrender on his knees at the 2:43 mark of the seventh round. The TKO triumph, his first stoppage in nearly nine years, gave the Pambansang Kamao the WBA welterweight belt.

    In a twist of irony, it was Manny who looked like El Machina, landing 95 of 344 total punches thrown. The dethroned Matthysse offered as little resistance as France did against Germany in World War II, connecting on just 57 of 246 total punches.

    Matthysse, an inch taller at 5-foot-6 1/2 outjabbed Pacquiao, 21-16, but the former Sarangani congressman landed 79 of 181 power punches while Lucas connected only 36 of 131.

    In this digital world we now live in, the news of Pacquiao's latest conquest went viral. And the praise was universal.

    "Any doubts that Pacquiao still has something to offer were put to rest as he returned in a sensational performance," writes Dan Rafael of ESPN.

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    "Even at 39, Pacquiao's quickness and hand and foot speed is among the best in the welterweight division," said Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports.

    Jeremy Herriges of Sports Illustrated chimed in: "Pacquiao might be on the dark side of his career but his impressive performance against Matthysse provided a ray of light."

    So who's next?

    "I still don't know," Pacquiao said in the afterglow of his 60th win. "I'm just so happy right now."

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    This much I know, though.

    The money, if that's what Manny wants, will be on a rematch with Floyd Mayweather. Sure, Pretty Boy is retired, but so was Sugar Ray Leonard in 1982, until he came back eight times, including a beating at the hands of Terry Norris Jr in 1996 when Sugar Ray was 40 and no longer sweet.

    If Pacquiao wants more prestige. he should challenge Vasyl Lomachenko, the best there is today, pound-for-pound.

    However, Amir Khan can provide a little bit of both - massive dollars and fight buzz. It's a very winnable fight, too, given how brittle Khan's British chin is.

    Fellow 147-pounders Terence Crawford, Errol Spence Jr. and Keith Thurman will be mentioned as possible opponents, but they pose nothing but water hazards and sand traps, to borrow a golf parlance.

    But those are possibilities best left for another day. For now, let's celebrate at least one more Pacquiao parade.

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    PACQUIAO V MATTHYSSE
    PACQUIAO V MATTHYSSE

      Meanwhile, I'll answer some questions about Pacquiao's latest victory.

      Pacquiao was visibly in a hurry to dispose of Matthysse. Was it true that after the fifth round, PacMan ordered an Uber that would take him to the victory party at the Kuala Lumpur Hilton?

      False. Pacquiao's nimble feet and swift hands were motivated by a desire to knock out the doubters and the naysayers.

      Pacquiao turned back the hands of time. He looked as fresh and loose as the chap who invented Bikram yoga. Was there a secret sauce in the pre-fight meal or a mysterious elixir in between rounds?

      Nothing. All he brought to the ring was man-made, pure as the Mindanao mountain air. Ask the vanquished Matthysse, and he'll tell you that all the sledgehammer blows he took were organic.

      As for Freddie Roach, the decorated trainer who had Pacquiao's ears in the corner for greater than 16 years, was he missed?

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      No, sir. Buboy Fernandez, Justin Fortune and Noynoy Neri unleashed a meaner, leaner Pacquiao, one who was "not held back in training" said Aquiles Zonio, Manny's media head who saw every minute detail in training.

      When the calendar peels its way to December in a few months, Pacquiao will turn 40. He shouldn't be fighting anymore, "rest in his laurels" as president Digong suggested.

      But he still wants to fight because he honestly believes he still has it.

      After all that he has done for us Filipinos and for our country, the least we can do is support Manny Pacquiao in however he chooses to pursue his fighting career.

      Happy endings are rare in sports. Here's hoping Manny finds one.

      Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

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      Manny Pacquiao upon his arrival in General Santos on Monday night.
      PHOTO: Wendell Alinea
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