“Pacman” breaks Puerto Rican Jinx 43 years ago

DATELINE MANILA
by: BINGO P. DEJARESCO

Exactly 43 years ago in the same month of November (1966), Puerto Rican great world lightweight champion Carlos Ortiz knocked out in the 14th round - the Philippines’ Flash Elorde, world junior lightweight champion at the Madison Square Garden in Las Vegas.

If the boxing bout was held today, Boxing “Hall of Famer” Flash Elorde would have lost by unanimous decision, since all title bouts are now limited to only 12 rounds. It was Elorde’s valiant but futile attempt to wrest a boxing title one division higher at 135 pounds held by Ortiz.

Hopefully, none of that will happen today as RP demi-god and Time Magazine (Asia edition) cover Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao fights for the WBO welterweight crown held by Puerto Rican gunslinger Miguel Cotto in the same Las Vegas area.

Today, Pacman will write boxing history, as the first man to lord it over seven (7) weight divisions and at age 31 moved from 106 pounds to 145 pounds by demolishing boxing legends along the way including the legendary Oscar de la Joya.

Flash Elorde, 78th Best Boxer in History in the last 80 years as voted by Ring Magazine in 2001, holds a record of 88 wins and is considered the “greatest” in his 130- pound boxing class, holding the crown from 1960-1967 and defending it successfully eleven times.

The Flash’s dream for boxing immortality vanished when Carlos Ortiz KO’d him - with millions of Filipinos crying as he fell on the canvas in the 14th - thousands of miles away from Las Vegas.

Manny Pacquiao, therefore, has one grudge to settle for Flash Elorde - as he battles Miguel Cotto, the Puerto Rican ring gladiator - in a fight today that will define boxing’s future, analysts say. It is also dubbed the Fight ons aside from Ortiz, like Felix Trinidad, Wildred Vasquez, Wildredo Benitez, Jose Torres and Wilfred Gomez.

Both southpaws, Pacquiao and Elorde, have always been compared. Both “busy, tenacious, quick-fisted boxerpuncher”, Manny is, however, the more aggressive compared to the counterpunching Elorde.

Pacquiao, developing a mobile defense, and a super right hand punch -had three sensational wins recently over David Diaz, Oscar de la Joya and Ricky Hatton in that order of demolition. Cotto, won in style over Shane Mosley and Joshua Clottey but was crushed by Antonio Margarito of Mexico.

Nationalism aside, our pick is a Pacman victory today (as Hillary Clinton also said at UST as well). The General Santos mauler will avoid Cotto’s body blows and pepper him with just too many punches - Cotto could be punch drunk and reduce to a louse (koto).

Angelo Dundee, Muhammad Ali’s great coach, thinks it will be a bloody 12-round decision win for Pacman. Heavyweight great Mike Tyson thinks it is Manny by KO. Even the “Ring Assassin” Bernard Hopkins thinks Pacman will win - “he is the Bruce Lee of boxing.” Fellow Puerto Rican former world champ Hector “Macho” Camacho sees a Pacquiao victory as does compatriot Felix Trinidad seeing “Pacquiao a very dangerous opponent.”

On the other hand, Shane Mosley and Carlos Ortiz believe it will be Cotto by decision.

That bout reflects the 2-1 betting ratio now going on for the classic fight today.

Fight time at noon today, Pacman is expected to grow to 149 lbs. and Cotto as high as 162 lbs. Whether that will make a fight difference, we fail to see.

Oozing with confidence, Pacman is even scheduled to do a rock concert (starring himself), a night after the fight - prompting Coach Freddie Roach to call him “nuts”.

Little does Roach know “that every athlete (really) wants to be a rock star and every rock hero wants to be an athlete” - like a “winning-them-all” feeling.

We are willing to risk coming out on a limb today - and predict a Pacman victory. No rounds stated. Besides, our favorite psychic Linda swears Pacman does have an “antinganting”. To say nothing about his childlike dependence on prayers and faith. A National Holiday tomorrow?