Adobong Morales

I have to say that my vibe prior to the fight was that I thought Pacquiao was going to lose again. I'm not pro-Morales, mind you, but based from the interviews leading up to the match it seemed that Pacquiao's camp was "talking too much" as the ombre from Mexico had mentioned. It would've been better that they shut up and focus on the training, which in duration was quite short (in tradition of our mañana habit) compared to Morales' 4-month exodus in the mountains.

There was also discussion about the Reyes Gloves. This made me more uneasy. If Pacquiao lost again, he doesn't have any excuse anymore about the gloves. Wonder what excuse he'll say next? Will he curse the First Gentleman or Chavit Singson for bringing in malas to the Las Vegas arena?

But of course, the heavens had a different plot to unravel:

Last Sunday was a day to remember. I've set my phone to alarm at 9.45am so that I'd still have 15 minutes of snooze time before the fight via Pay-Per-View (PPV). This was actually my 2nd time to subscribe to the said service, my 1st being Pacquiao-Morales 1 wherein Manny lost by decision.

Well I should've known. By 10am I've turned on the tube and switched to the PPV-channel. Hmmm....3 fights before the Pacquiao match. Still got enough time to cook adobo.

300kgs of thawed liempo was waiting to be diced and spiced to one of our most classic dish. The missus had learned to cook the said concoction by observing me a la Jamie Oliver some months back. I had the recipe somewhere in my head but I had to confirm the amounts. Thank goodness for telephony! I was able to ask Shangu for the recipe and has since remembered it by heart. I agree with the missus that however you tancha-tancha the soy sauce and the vinegar, it would still taste great. Of course I'd still like to have liempo as the meat since all that greasy taba holding on for dear life between the skin and the lean meat makes me want to forget all that health-crap and just munch away. That Sunday brunch was heavenly tasteful.

Well the 3 matches had passed and it was time for the main event. The Philippine national anthem was sung dramatically and heartfelt by Jennifer Bautista, except of course, by that last note. I even thought her pahabol cheer of "Go Pacman!!!" would've jinxed it. If Manny had lost, I would've asked my friends in the US to have a search-warrant for her on the grounds of jinxing through kakikayan.

Yes it was a truly dramatic scene: Jennifer singing in a red baro't saya, Philippine flag waving at the background, a quick-shot at Manny trying to hold his tears, and that old guy lifting the championship-belt (who's he btw?). I suddenly felt, "Hey! I think we're just gonna win this one."

But then, on the 8th day, God created Jon Secada.

It was dejavu-ish as I remember the missus and I were tirelessly trying to remember his name when we heard "Just Another Day" being played on the radio midway last year. We were having a hard time I tell you. It was the first time that the missus, a contestant to their "Name That Tune" competitions during engineering week in UP, had missed it. Who would've thought that he would be singing for Morales' corner? Good thing Morales was not Puerto Rican as the missus would've surely switched teams if Ricky Martin was in Jon's place. Btw, the missus' heartbeat was literally running like a horse in San Lazaro ---note that this was only during the national anthem. I advised her not to watch but then I got a "Whaaaaat???" for my diagnosis. Yup, dumb move to make her not watch what could be one of the greatest fights of the year. Jon had sung both Mexican and US national anthems, a la Johnny Mathis. Well it's a good thing to see that he still has a career singing in the ring as there are a lot of Mexican boxers out there. So anyway....

"LLLLLLLLet's get ready to rumbleeeeeeeeee"

I've seen the two fight before so I was wondering what their respective strategies would be going into the fight. As you may have seen, Morales had developed this "laser fast left jab" that Manny just could'nt get enough of ---note that Morales is NOT a southpaw. You could see from the slow-mo replays that Manny's head just swings back after that laser-jab. This new arsenal would've caused Manny to lose with all the head-shots he was taking.

Manny's fight tactics had improved vastly. His swift-combo-punches and powerful left (and right) were pounding Morales from Round 1. There were nerve-wracking moments as it seemed that he almost got clobbered by Morales' combos but he always found a way to escape ---same too with Morales on the other end. It was an evenly fought match wherein NO ONE had the upperhand. The missus didn't know what to do: whether to indian-sit on the sofa or spread her legs over the coffee table ---both while covering her mouth with her trusty bimpo. It was killing me I tell you.

All changed by Round 6.

The fatigue-factor had crept to Morales while Manny suddenly had a rebirth. Inside sources also said that Morales may have tired his eyes from reading all those ads on Manny's shorts: Motolite, Cafe Puro, NoFear, etc. Ahhh yes Philippine ad-media will never be the same. It was like Manny had taken a power-pellet lying in the ring and it seemed to have weakened the Morales ghost. The Pacman was out to eat El Terrible alive. It was like every Pacquiao combo was chipping away Morales as every round breezed by. The sure sign of fatigue was the last 10-seconds of round-9 when Morales decided to jog around the ring to wake himself up, much to the boos of the crowd.

There was this PPV-commentator who was obviously pro-Morales, trying to convince the tv-audience, and himself, that Morales is "one tough ombre" who can get out of any sticky situation. During the broadcast replays I was able to confirm this as he was able to translate the communication on the Morales corner in-between rounds. He certainly speaks Mexican. Hmmm...he must've been watching a lot of Marimar in his off time.

It was all over by round 10. Morales' punches could not connect. He was like trying to control an unruly mob of Noranians trying to get his autograph, swinging pitifully in the air. His feet were obviously wobbly. It took only a trademark Pacman-right to finish him off, hitting him in the left-cheek and kneeling to the canvass. I could vaguely hear the PPV-commentator shout "Morales is down! Morales is down!" as it was overpowered by me and the missus shouting and clapping in the sala. The referee, a near-semblance to Danny Glover, was in the 7th count when Morales stood up.

Game on!

The Mexicans must've thought there was a resurgence. Nosotros ombre esta vivo!!! <---tama ba?

But no.

You know that feeling when you first get off from bed in the morning after a full 7-8 hours of sleep? It's that state between dreaming and waking up? THAT was what Morales must've felt when he stood up. He just took a few steps and when he got his focus back, there was Pacquiao right in front of his nose. Another Pacman-combo against the ropes, and Morales was down again. Mr. Glover went to check on Morales ---it was like those old films when the doctor takes a tap of his stetoscope to the patient's chest and says, "He's not gonna make it." Dr. Glover waved his arms in the air (like he just don't care) and took off Morales' mouth-piece. Simulatenously, Pacquiao went to the neutral corner and knelt in prayerful gratitude, as his corner comrades went into the ring to celebrate this famous win.

It was all over. The pro-Morales PPV-commentator was distraught, "collapsed in his chair" as his colleague had aptly put it. There was only the Philippine flag and banners waving with the hiyaws of the Pinoy crowd illuminating the tv-screen ---except of course for the 1st Gentleman and Chavit Singson in the ring. Ahh yes, a Philippine victory ---be it in sports, music, or elsewhere--- will never be complete without a cast of clowns around.

Pacquiao's English totally undermines his boxing skills. Only Jimmy Santos could be proud.

Asked about his improved right hand: "Ah yes yes my right hand is improvement! My right hand is improvement!"

About his tactics: "I’m careful to his head. I can take his power but I’m lucky to survive that."

About the Reyes gloves: "Using my gloves…cause that’s my gloves!"

To his defense, Manny thanked everyone ("Americans, Mexicans, and Filipinos") who support the sport of boxing. Even during this proud moment, he was still humble and diplomatic to thank everyone. 100 pogi-points to him.

Morales walked the dark alley back to the locker room while Manny was still in the ring throwing kisses to the crowd ---obviously only the Pinoys had stayed behind.

In the end it was a memorable Sunday. Morales was diced and spiced by the Pacman, adobo-style.