“NOTHING PERSONAL. IT’S MY JOB. NOW LET’S PARTY.”

BY TED LERNER

(Manila, Philippines)– Before we break out the heretofore unknown superlatives and the extra gaudy adjectives, I want to bring you to a moment few people saw, just minutes after Manny Pacquiao’s complete and total annihilation of Ricky Hatton, which seemed to perfectly define and capture the enormity of what we had all just observed.

Pacquiao had already showered and dressed, and had just emerged from his dressing room looking as fresh as the morning dew in May. A Filipino television reporter grabbed him for his first interview. Manny was relaxed and calm, with his usual kid-like grin on his face. After thanking God for giving him the strength to emerge victorious yet again, and thanking Hatton for the opportunity to fight, he turned to the reporter and said; “It’s nothing personal. It’s just my job. Now I’d like to invite Ricky Hatton to the Philippines for a big celebration.”

Man is this guy GOOD. Think about that. He kicks the living crap out of you in six of the most breathtaking minutes ever seen in the squared circle, then after showering up he invites to you break bread with him in his country, stay in his house and drink in the love and warmth of his adoring countrymen.

This is something different and unique. A humble and respectful blue collar superman who defies human physics. Boxing, and sport in general, has a new star to worship and idolize.

Amongst his countrymen, he’s the baddest Pinoy of all time, the Greatest Filipino ever. With this victory, though, Pacquiao, is beyond the Philippines now. He’s in Tiger Woods territory, a freak of nature who defies weight classes and gets better all the time. He’s a once in several generation phenomenon, a fighting machine like the sport has never seen. And with Pacquiao there seems to be little or no downside. Not only does he fight and defeat whomever he wants, he’s also polite, religious, and a decent guy. Fans could be forgiven if they think Pacquiao is a creation of Steven Spielberg.

I have covered Pacquiao since his early fights and have always been in awe of his fighting style, but after this performance against Hatton, Filipinos should give him carte blanche to do whatever he wants in his business and personal life. If he wants to walk out on his signed contracts, nobody should say a word. He can have as many girlfriends has he likes, stay out all night for months, gamble on cockfights. Who cares? For the next fight they should just hand Pacquiao the microphone and let him sing the Philippine National anthem. (Seeing as Martin Nievera did such a bad job with the song.)

To begin to appreciate the enormity of what Pacquiao has accomplished, it helps to understand something about Philippine boxing. I have been covering Philippine boxing for 15 years and I have yet to see any other Filipino fighter perform at a world class level at welterweight or Jr. welterweight. Good Filipino welterweights just don’t exist. Welterweights are considered the heavyweight division of Philippine boxing and any guys who do fight there are usually slow, and decidedly mediocre. So Pacquiao’s incredible ability at this weight means he’s truly unusual, someone who is extraordinarily gifted beyond the normal standard of his countrymen. Even the great Gabriel “Flash” Elorde couldn’t perform well beyond Jr. Lightweight.

Pacquiao’s knockout left was perhaps one of the all-time greatest knockout blows in boxing history. For many years that punch will be repeatedly shown as not just a great highlight, but as the perfectly scientific way to maximize total power in as short a space as possible. Pacquiao coiled perfectly and unleashed his weight from down in his legs and up through his body. His body weight was already in the perfect position for the connecting fist to come up and through and when it connected, it absolutely hit the sweet spot on Hatton’s chin. Pacquiao probably didn’t even feel it.

And probably Hatton didn’t either, as he was out cold as soon as the punch landed. I recall that my first reaction when the punch landed and Hatton crashed so scarily to the canvass was that they might have to ban Pacquiao. He’s too good. His fists are absolutely lethal weapons.

That was some spine chilling stuff. Convulsing on the ring canvass as stiff as a board, Hatton looked for a moment to be clinically dead, as if he were lying down in a coffin. His head was so concussed that his body literally shut down, going into some kind of natural protection mode. When Hatton’s brain finally rebooted and he woke up from his brief coma, I was sure that something was missing, that he had suffered long term brain damage. Ricky could probably fight again, but I’d certainly be afraid for him. For sure the Ricky Hatton that walked out of the ring was not the same Ricky Hatton that walked into the ring just a few minutes earlier.

But while that left hook will be the famous highlight, it will be Pacquiao’s right hand that makes up most of the film reel from this fight. Indeed Pacman clocked Hatton with the right hook from the very start and the first knockdown in round one came from a right hand. Incredibly the man who was famous for his lethal left is now better with his right. That’s scary.

As with everything with Pacquiao now, the credit for this amazing development has to go to Team Pacquiao, not just Manny himself. Although Freddie Roach likes to say Pacquiao is the guy taking care of business in the ring, the fact is that the two are inseparable when you’re talking about Pacman’s success. It is Freddie Roach who has sculpted the raw animalistic fury that was the younger Pacquiao into the fighting machine that he is today. At the same time Freddie’s teachings would not have had any effect if he didn’t have such a willing and gifted student.

Indeed Team Pacquiao studied and stalked Hatton for two and a half months. They knew that Hatton would be looking out for Pacman’s famous left. They noticed that Hatton telegraphed his punches before he even threw them and left himself open for the right. And they knew that Hatton just didn’t have the defense and would, as he always has done in his career, come forward looking for the kill. The plan worked to perfection.

“He fell into our trap,” Roach said immediately afterward. “We thought Ricky would box in the first few rounds. But he came right out at the start and mixed it up. That was perfect for us.”

“Before I don’t trust my right hook,” Pacquiao said. “Now I do.”

So do we Manny. And as boxing fans we have finally found the very thing we were once all looking for in Mike Tyson. When he was bludgeoning opponents senseless, Tyson had the raw animalistic fury, the brutally quick hands, the sick power and speed, and the intimidation that had his opponents defeated before the fights even began and fans gasping in amazement. Tyson, though, didn’t have his life together. With Pacquiao you have all the boxing skills, plus you have a guy who has his life together. Pacquiao’s the whole package. And we want to see more.

Now the big talk is Pacquiao fighting Floyd Mayweather maybe later this year. That would indeed be something amazing to see but right now there’s a few catches. First Mayweather has to get by Juan Manuel Marquez in July in his comeback fight. Regardless of what people are saying about Marquez trying to move up in weight—will we ever learn?—this is one is a difficult fight out of the box for Pretty Boy Floyd after taking a year off.

But even if Mayweather does defeat Marquez, I still don’t think he has the goods over Pacman. It was once said that Pacquiao didn’t have the technical skills that Mayweather possesses. Well, you know what? That may have been true a few years ago but not anymore. Pacquiao has got great technique, perhaps better than Mayweather and he’s also got awesome power that Pretty Boy can only dream about.

The big question is whether Mayweather will come down to fight Manny at 140 pounds where Pacquiao says he is comfortable and where Mayweather hasn’t fought in four years. Roach says Mayweather is afraid to fight Manny and I believe him. In addition, Pacquiao’s been busy, is in peak form and has taken very little punishment in his last few fights. What has Mayweather been doing lately? Dodging the taxman and making it rain at discos by throwing fistfuls of cash off the balcony onto the dance floor below. Sorry Floyd. You’re going to have to do more than trash talk to make a believer out of me.

So while Floyd Mayweather will continue to talk smack in order to grab headlines, Manny Pacquiao will continue to earn the sporting world’s respect and admiration by letting his fists do the talking.

“I don’t challenge other boxers,” he said after the fight. “I just fight to give a good entertainment to the people. I’m getting paid to do my job. I don’t only fight as a fighter in the ring. I want to prove that there’s nothing impossible if you believe in God. “

A God fearing statesman and a champion fighter. Doing his job of kicking some serious ass and shaking hands with his opponent and breaking bread afterwards. With one of the most incredible beatings seen in the ring in many years, and a blue collar work ethic and friendly, humble demeanor, Manny Pacquiao has brought a new approach to the often sordid world of boxing and has single handedly brought respect back to the sport.

Ted Lerner is the Philippines correspondent for the Ring Magazine

This article also appears at www.asianboxingnews.com