ACCEPTING DEFEAT

As the old adage goes,

"Be humble in victory, be gracious in defeat"

Last May 3, 2015, the world was at the stand still because of the "fight of the century" between the best pound-for-pound boxers Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

The fight ended with a Unanimous decision in favor of Mayweather.

Fans at the MGM Grand booed at the decision. Filipinos from all over the globe cried conspiracy allegations and vent their anger at their respective social media accounts. Personally, I also vent my frustrations in Twitter. It is frustrating to see your nation's pride having a hard time solving the puzzle that is Mayweather.

Leading towards the fight, I was really concern with fighting style of Mayweather. He is so intelligent and savvy that he could telegraph every move of his opponent. His in-game adjustments are also unmatched.

Outside the ring, he may be a villain but once the bright lights are on, you will marvel at his defensive prowess. It is comparable to the Fort Knox because they are impenetrable.

However, also leading towards the fight, I thought Pacquiao could do a better version of the tactic which was utilized by Maidana. The latter fought a rugged type of game plan. Pushing Floyd towards the ropes and putting his entire weight towards him in order to land his haymakers. Maidana threw punch after punch with reckless abandon. 

In my head, Pacquiao could do better than that. He has a good footwork and he can unleash a furry of punches from all angles. 

During their much awaited encounter, Pacquiao looked like the past Mayweather opponents. Manny was having a hard time landing a clean punch because Mayweather was ducking, weaving and running away from the action.

What other Pacquiao fans fail to realize is that Floyd carefully picks the moment when he should attack. Once he attacks, he would perfectly hit Pacquiao with precise punches.

After the fight, the Compubox stats were released.

Like everyone else, I was surprised that Mayweather threw more punches than Pacquiao. However, I was not surprised with the landing percentage of the punches because Mayweather is known to be precise puncher throughout his career.

Compubox stats was an indication that Pacquiao failed to execute his gameplan. He was supposed to threw a barrage of punches towards Floyd and cut the ring to effectively limit Floyd's movement inside the ring.

Instead, Mayweather utilized every advantage he has, he used his reach advantage in keeping Manny at bay. He used his weight and height advantage to clinch Manny when he is about to launch his plan of attack.

In the press conference after the fight, It was revealed that Pacquiao has a shoulder injury. True or not, it is just an excuse to save the face of the entire Pacquiao team.  It is not the first time, Pacquiao used an excuse when losing a fight. 

During his first encounter with Morales, his excuse was that he couldn't rest properly because the suite in which he was supposed to stay was taken by his then promoter. 

Also during his first encounter with Marquez, his excuse in why he didn't finished off JuanMa is because of his socks caused blisters which limited his movement.

As a Filipino, my nationality does not accept defeat easily. We will always have an excuse in our back pocket every time. It is hard to own up to our mistakes. 

In the MayPac fight,

YES, Floyd ran and clinched (hugged) Pacquiao. Running and Clinching are not illegal in a boxing match.

YES, Floyd is a boring fighter. He maybe boring but he is an effective fighter. He attacks in a position of strength. This what makes him intelligent. Every move he makes is calculated.

YES, the fight was held in the US and the judges are Americans. But it does not necessarily mean that the fight is rigged. 

Filipinos are hurt with the result of this fight because Floyd was the "villain". He bad mouth Pacquiao and even our country before. We love the story that the good always trumps evil. Our anger towards Floyd became personal in a way that we hoped that Manny would beat the shit out of him.

Unfortunately we lost, but we must accept the fact that Mayweather outwit, outplay,outclass our Pambansang Kamao.