Manny and the 3K Battery

Yanig sa Taguig, Filipino pride, the road to boxing glory

One thing on my mind about this fight is Pacquiao had better win this fight, and in a big way. With Fashan “3K Battery” the overwhelming underdog despite defeating every Filipino fighter he’s gone on the ring with, Manny needs not just a win, he needs to make a statement to the boxing world at large. This fight isn’t about Filipino pride, getting even with 3K for all the pinoy boxers he’s floored. It’s about getting that killer instict back. You know, the one he lost when a draw was called in his match against Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez last May.

Fashan, a certified Filipino beater with 20 or so wins out of his 44 coming over Filipino boxers, is anything but (a pushover). In what promises to be THE fight of his life, 3K is sure to bring his A-game with him.

At first, something just felt wrong about this Dec. 11 fight; I mean, Pacquiao’s status is such that you can’t even mention Marco Antonio Barrera without Pacquiao. The Pacman’s even been called “little Ali” by the greatest himself. In his upcoming fight, he’s got everything to lose, and very little to win. As fine a boxer as 3K must be, prestige-wise he isn’t in Manny’s caliber, and a loss would be very damaging to Pacquiao’s future chances at Barrera, Marquez and Morales, and that’s what’s REALLY important to the People’s Champion. Not the $300 K prize, but the chance to be in the boxing pantheon, to be in the books as one of the best fighters the Philippines has ever produced.

Thinking about it though, the fight does serve one very important purpose. Manny needs a warmup, something to hone his edge, and a pushover just wouldn’t do. Fashan, a certified Filipino beater with 20 or so wins out of his 44 coming over Filipino boxers, is anything but. In what promises to be THE fight of his life, 3K is sure to bring his A-game with him; after all, at 30, his chances at stardom in the ring is fading fast. 3K has an unlikely hero/ idol in his quest: Pacquiao himself. It wasn’t that long ago when Pacquiao was in almost the same position as the Thai; three years ago Manny was the virtual unknown looking to take on South African Lehlo Ledwaba for the International Boxing Federation junior featherweight crown, and look what happened.

Needless to say, Manny needs to treat this match like a championship. He needs to regain the fearsome aura he got when he once beat Marco Antonio Barrera to a bloody pulp, and lost when he whined about the decision in his Marquez fight. Because as Tyson, Barrera, Ali and Lennox Lewis once demonstrated, boxing isn’t just about hitting the other guy, it’s scaring the living daylights out of him.