Cebuano boxing fans were stunned with the knockout loss of Manny Pacquiao to Juan Manuel Marquez yesterday in Las Vegas, but many still believe it isn’t over for the Filipino boxing icon.
Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama, who, along with around 600 other boxing fans, watched the fight from the Cebu Parklane International Hotel, said Pacquiao should take a rest first before thinking of fighting again.
“That was the game, he got hit, it’s boxing,” said Rama after the fight. “If I was him, I’ll rest and think whether to continue fighting or not.”
Also present in yesterday’s live pay-per-view offering of Parklane were ALA Boxing Gym’s Edmund and Editho Villamor along with boxers WBO minimumweight and lightflyweight champion Donnie Nietes, WBO Intercontinental flyweight champion Milan “El Metodico” Melindo, Jason Pagara, Jimrex Jaca, Rey “Boom-boom” Bautista and Merlito Sabillo.
Jaca, who also lost to Marquez last 2006, said Pacquiao deserves a fifth rematch. “I think it’s not over for Pacquiao. He still has a lot of chance of proving that he is the best,” said Jaca.
“There will be a fifth rematch,” said trainer Edmund Villamor. “There was no mistake in Pacquiao’s side. It was just perfect timing for Marquez to hit that right hook and that is a very lethal shot.” Villamor also said that a fifth rematch won’t lose it’s excitement. “They said the fourth rematch would already be boring. But we have just witnessed a classic fight.”
However, Parklane general manager Cenelyn Manguilimutan said they had lesser boxing fans watching the fourth rematch yesterday compared to Pacquiao’s fight last June against American Timothy Bradley.
Still, TopRank Promotions CEO Bob Arum is convinced a fifth fight will push through. “If there’s a demand for a fifth fight and the guys want to do it again, what better fight can you make?” said Arum in a report at Examiner.com. /CORRESPONDENT DALE G. ROSAL