No topic about our true hero!!!! Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao!!
Pacquiao TKOs foe in 6th
By Abac Cordero
The Philippine Star 09/12/2005
LOS ANGELES — It was a great day for Philippine boxing — one that’s both easy to remember and hard to forget.
Manny Pacquiao made sure of that Saturday evening (Sunday morning in Manila) when he knocked out Mexican toughie Hector Velazquez in the sixth round of their World Boxing Council super featherweight bout at the Staples Center.
Just a few fights earlier, Filipinos Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and Hawaii-born Brian Viloria knocked out their separate opponents, too, as the Filipinos went 3-of-3. They are all under Freddie Roach.
President Arroyo grabbed a rare opportunity to announce good news yesterday after months of political turmoil by going on TV to congratulate Paquiao, Viloria and Bautista for their stunning victories in the United States.
"The whole nation is celebrating Manny Pacquiao’s victory," a beaming Mrs. Arroyo said, adding "God heard my prayers for his victory because his fight was the fight of all Filipinos."
Mrs. Arroyo said she personally called Pacquiao to express her happiness.
A flurry of punches to Velazquez’s head brought an end to the fight where Pacquiao, at times, seemed unsure of what to do with his taller, older opponent.
The fight, scheduled for 12 rounds, ended at the 2:59 mark of the sixth with Pacquiao landing a left that had Velazquez slowly falling on his knees as the bell sounded.
Referee Lou Moret gave Velazquez the count and the latter struggled to beat it. Apparently, Moret asked the Mexican if he wanted to continue.
And when the Mexican said "no," Moret waved his wands in declaring Pacquiao the winner by technical knockout. This triggered a wild celebration among Pacquiao fans.
Members of his team mobbed Pacquiao on top of the ring as loud music was played inside the arena. Those in the stands, part of the crowd of 10,548, cheered as hard as they could, some of them waving Philippine flags.
Pacquiao, who crammed in training for this fight, didn’t get off to a good start despite the fact the all three referees had him leading on their cards when the fight was stopped.
Pacquiao and Velazquez traded blows in the opening round, but the Mexican, a known street fighter in Tijuana, appeared up to the challenge.
He spread his arms at least thrice in the opening round, taunting Pacquiao, egging him to come in and at one point as if he was saying "is that all you got?"
While he landed some of his, Velazquez took a couple more good shots in the next rounds but, again, refused to budge. While Pacquiao was already breathing through the mouth, Velazquez looked fresh in between rounds.
Starting in the fourth round, Pacquiao started to go to the body and this, upon the instructions of his trainer Roach, may have been the key.
Some good body shots softened up Velazquez who, for the first time in the match, started to show signs of weakness. Pacquiao’s punches were beginning to take their toll.
Then in the sixth, it was clear that the Filipino southpaw was the stronger puncher. He staggered his foe with 30 seconds left in the round then went for the kill as Velazquez leaned on the ropes.
"Noong una, puro sa mukha ang patama ko, pero matigas ang jaw. Kaya sinabihan ako na pumunta na sa katawan," he said, baring that the fight plan was to hit the face, but when the opponent’s jaw proved sturdy, he shifted to the body.
Pacquiao improved to 40-3-2 with 31 KOs while Velazquez fell to 42-11-2.
The rest, as they say, is history.
:mrgreen:
Pacquiao TKOs foe in 6th
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