By Alex P. Vidal
“When an underdog wins, they win for everybody, because somebody gotta come through that door and break it open and make it possible.”
—Saint John
THE first thing that impressed me about Yordenis Ugas was he isn’t a thrash talker. Not an obtrusive person. He doesn’t insult his rival. Very professional.
Silent water runs deep, as the saying goes.
Second was his height (5 feet and 9 inches).
Height has always been a major advantage in the welterweight category.
Third was his amateur background (highlighted by a bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics).
Once you have an exciting and extensive experience in the amateur ranks, you’re almost always penciled to become a world class professional fighter.
Then I reviewed the Cuban’s fights on video; I studied his style and movement in the ring. I knew Ugas was the Real McCoy, someone who could match Pacquiao’s ferocity above the ring when the goings get tough.
I diligently did my assignment as an analyst and sportswriter.
I knew I would be grilled intensely by my colleagues in the broadcast media who always sought my opinion and trusted my pre-fight analysis in boxing during the “live” interviews.
I always anticipated on-the-spot and thought-provoking questions like: “What is your prediction?” and “Who do you think will win and why?”
Even if Ugas was toting an “unremarkable” ring record (now 25-4-0, 12 KOs), it didn’t discourage me from picking him to win against Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao.
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When I made pre-fight “fearless forecasts” in the past and wouldn’t pick Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs), fellow Filipinos with deep admiration and love for Pacquiao ribbed me for being “un-Filipino” and “biased against a fellow Filipino.”
I expected the same treatment when I announced that Ugas would score a huge upset if there was no knockout and the fight was decided by the judges, thus I always said “sorry” to Pacquiao’s fans before saying that Ugas might win on points.
Pacquiao remains to be extremely popular among Pinoy fight fans that they always believed he could still destroy his rivals by stoppage if the duel would not reach 12 rounds.
They forgot that the wear and tear factor has already caught up with Pacquiao, who has been fighting as a prizefighter since 1995.
At 42, he may not be as destructive and quick compared during his heydays years back when he would send to retirement some of the most feared former world champions who had crossed his path like Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Oscar Dela Hoya, and Joshua Clottey, to name only a few.
Many of Pacquiao’s die-hards would always base their judgment on the hitherto best boxer pound for pound’s invincibility on emotion, not on science, statistics, period of inactivity and reality.
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Gamblers who placed a heavy bet on the “fighting lawmaker” who will now be obligated (I decline to use the word “forced”) to abandon boxing and focus on his political career now that he failed to bag Ugas’ WBA welterweight jewels, were the real big losers.
Pacquiao, 42, was the heavy underdog when his fight this year was announced against unified WBC and IBF 147-kg ruler Errol Spence Jr., 31.
When Spence Jr. pulled out and gave way to Ugas, 35, due to a torn retina two weeks before the August 21 bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Pacquiao became the heavy favorite.
Gamblers made a last-ditch effort to shift their bets and suffered the consequences for the “poor judgement.”
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two dailies in Iloilo)
