Manny Pacquiao Wins Over Barrrera Again

We had to go to church Saturday evening. We already know it's going to be a long night and waking the kids up for Sunday morning service will be quite an ordeal. Come fight time at 9pm, we all went to our friends Wowie and Pearly Villarta's house to watch the PPV event.

I am a boxing fan and I don't just wait for the main event to start before I put my gaze on the screen. From the first undercard to the last one before the M.E., I watched intently and they turned out to be very good matches. The first bout between Steve Forbes and Francisco Bojado was to me a highway robbery for Bojado. It was a split decision but I strongly felt Bojado should have won. Well, that is Las Vegas boxing, what can I say.

When the much awaited Pacquiao vs. Barrera II match is about to start, all the available sitting space filled up. It was quite a slow start for both fighters, understandably. No one wanted to try to finish the bout early, make a mistake and lose. Each fighter just had so much respect on the capabilities of the other fighter, especially Barrera. The problem is that Barrera was so overly cautious the whole night and if he can't get his game going, he'll just try to survive the night and not be knocked out. That's exactly what he did. Knowing he can't really penetrate the defense of Manny, as Manny is just too fast for him and Manny exhibiting excellent footwork, he just coasted along.

Manny was more of a boxer last night than his usual one man wrecking crew. There were spurts, but he clearly didn't want to beat Barrera down to kingdom come like what he did in their first encounter four years ago. If somebody was expecting a knockout, it was a disappointment but I believe Manny fought an intelligent fight. He knew he was winning almost every round. Why rush? Barrera didn't want to engage toe to toe and when he did, Manny was almost always ahead. He's just too fast for the aging Barrera. In the eleventh round, Barrera showed his true color by hitting Manny on the break and thus getting a one point deduction from referee Tony Weeks.

In the end it was a unanimous decision for Manny. Two judges scored it 118-109 but one judge by the name of Tom Schreck scored it an unbelievable 115-112 meaning Pacquiao won only 7 out of the 12 rounds. He better just move to scoring soccer, he can easily do that even blindfolded. I thought Barrera won only one round and that's even questionable for a 119-108 score but we were happy that Manny won. I hope he fights Juan Manuel Marquez next for the WBC Superfeatherweight crown. That is unfinished business for both of them since the first one was a draw. Besides, boxing fans not just Filipinos are waiting for this to happen.

Now, I'm eagerly awaiting for Nov. 3 for the fight between Mikkel Kessler of Denmark (39-0) and Joe Calzaghe of UK (43-0)for the unification of the Supermiddlewight crown. The fight will be done in Calzaghe's home turf. Their records are 82-0 between the two of them. Kessler is the underdog but I think he will win. Also on Nov. 3 is the fight between welterweights Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto. This day will surely be a great fight day for boxing fans the world over.