Floyd’s skills overcome Manny’s will

LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao came to fight. But Floyd Mayweather came to defend and respond.

In a display of boxing brilliance and punching accuracy, Mayweather handled everything Pacquiao threw
at him and at the same time successfully mounted his counter offense as he marched to a unanimous
decision victory at the MGM Grand Garden Arena here Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

While it seemed Pacquiao was the busier fighter as he pinned Mayweather on the ropes for several
occasions, the undefeated American turned out to be more effective.

According to punch statistics released by CompuBox, Mayweather connected on 148 punches of the total
435 he threw at Pacquiao. This translated into a 34 percent connect rate.

Pacquiao, in contrast, landed only 81 blows of the 429 he threw, and his 18 percent rate paled in
comparison to Mayweather, who kept his promise of staying unbeaten as he notched his 48th straight win
in front of over 16,000 fans.

Mayweather stressed he was more effective than Pacquiao last night.

“He (Pacquiao) was playing the aggressor but he isn’t landing his punches,” said the Las Vegas-based
boxer, who won with scores of 118-110 and 116-112 (twice).

Mayweather banked on his jab to keep the forward-fighting Pacquiao at bay for the latter half of the fight,
connecting on 67 of 267 jabs for a 25 percent connect rate. Pacquiao, which had shorter reach, landed
only 18 of 193 jabs.

Pacquiao though was busier in the power punching department, with 63 of his 263 power blows finding
their target (27 percent). But still, Mayweather was accurate as he connected 81 of his 168 power shots
(48 percent).

The Filipino icon insisted Mayweather never hurt him.

But the accuracy of the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter was more than enough to convince judges
Carl Moretti, Burt Clements and Glen Feldman to award him the decision.

Pacquiao yields crown, but earns

Floyd’s respect
LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao came. Manny Pacquiao saw. But Floyd Mayweather Jr. conquered.
Mayweather’s boxing brilliance was in display Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the MGM Grand Garden
Arena here, successfully negating Pacquiao’s aggressiveness to notch a hard-earned decision win.

Pacquiao, who was later known to have fought on a bum shoulder, tried his best to beat Mayweather. In
round four, he rocked the undefeated American with a counter left straight that had Mayweather retreating
to the ropes.

It was probably the best round for any Mayweather opponent. But like the 47 other fighters that came
before him, Pacquiao came up short.

For several times, Pacquiao pummeled Mayweather with flurries to the body, but the latter always found a
way to escape. He went for broke in the final round, perhaps sensing he needed a knockout to win. But
Mayweather continued to flick his jab to make sure Pacquiao couldn’t come any closer.

After the decision was announced, Mayweather went to Pacquiao’s corner to hug his spirited challenger.
The fight that took about five years to make finally reached its conclusion.

Pacquiao tried. Pacquiao failed. He yielded his WBO welterweight title to Mayweather, but in exchange,
he got his foe’s respect.

“Manny Pacquiao is a great fighter. Now I see why he’s been successful in the sport,” Mayweather said in
the ring afterwards.

At the post-fight press conference, Pacquiao was the first to speak. Mayweather, with an entourage of
bodyguards in tow, then appeared and again hugged Pacquiao, whom he was cordial with throughout the
promotion.

“Manny Pacquiao is still a champion. He still has a lot left... I just fought a more calculated fight tonight,”
he said when it was his turn to speak on the dais.

Mayweather just had no bad things to say to Pacquiao.

“I wouldn’t say Manny’s the toughest fighter I’ve faced or the hardest puncher. But I see why he’s raised
the sport to where it is now,” he added.

Mayweather outpoints Pacquiao, stays

unbeaten
LAS VEGAS (UPDATED) - Floyd Mayweather Jr. overcame a spirited challenge from Manny Pacquiao to
keep his promise to stay unbeaten with a unanimous decision win before a heavily pro-Pacquiao crowd
at the MGM Grand Garden Arena here Saturday (Sunday Manila time).
After getting rocked in the fourth round by a big left straight from Pacquiao - perhaps the best round by
any Mayweather opponent - Mayweather kept his composure and relied on his jab and counters to keep
the Filipino icon at bay.

Judge Dave Moretti scored the bout 118-110 for Mayweather while Burt Clements and Glenn Feldman
had it 116-112 (twice) for the American, who remains undefeated and is now the unified WBC, WBA and
WBO welterweight champion.

Philstar.com had it 115-112 for the Las Vegas-based Mayweather, who pocketed his 48th straight win -
probably the most important of his career and in a fight that will inevitably go down as the richest ever.

More importantly, Mayweather settled the debate on who's the planet's best fighter. After getting
forced to the ropes several times by Pacquiao, he always found a way to get out. He often clinched each
time Pacquiao had him cornered, eliciting jeers from most of the 16,507-strong crowd that filled the
arena.

"As long as I moved on the outside, he wasn't going to catch me," Mayweather said in an interview in
the ring.

According to CompuBox, Mayweather threw a total of 435 punches, connecting on 148 of those for a 35
percent connect rate. Pacquiao, meanwhile, threw 429 but landed only 81 of them (19 percent).

Pacquiao kept coming to Mayweather all night, pummeling his foe each time he had him on the ropes.
But the blows hardly had any impact apart from drawing cheers from the highly partisan crowd.

"I thought I won the fight," a calm Pacquiao said.

If there was any consolation for Pacquiao, it's earning Mayweather's respect.

"Manny Pacquiao is a great fighter. Now I see why he has been successful in the sport," said
Mayweather, who then recalled the big counter left straight he absorbed from Pacquiao in the fourth
canto.

"He's a really smart fighter though. It's only when I stayed in the pocket that he got me," he added.

Pacquiao was the clear aggressor throughout the fight, but Mayweather had him figured out by the sixth
round. He would keep Pacquiao at bay by flicking his jabs and timing his counter rights.

He admitted his corner asked him to be busier, but he was cautious of Pacquiao.

"My dad wanted to do more. But Manny was really awkward and I had to watch him closely," said
Mayweather, who later on announced he's fighting one more time in September before retiring.

"It's time for me to hang it up," he said.

Mayweather proves doubters wrong

LAS VEGAS - Floyd Mayweather Jr. has toned down with his trash-talking in the build-up to his megabuck
showdown with Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand.

He vowed to let his fists do the talking.

And that's what exactly what he did in his unanimous decision victory over a gritty Pacquiao here
Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila).

For 12 rounds, Mayweather absorbed whatever Pacquiao dished out on him, making sure his boxing
brilliance topped Pacquiao's aggression and awkward style.

He entered Saturday's fight as a -240 favorite to beat the +200 underdog Pacquiao, and many observers
believed the Filipino icon has a huge chance of ending Mayweather's 47-fight streak and deal him his
first loss.

Those sportswriters were wrong, and Mayweather made sure to remind them of it.

"I made you guys eat your words. Tomorrow, you write Floyd Mayweather turned all of you into
believers," Mayweather said in the post-fight conference, referring to boxing writers who downplayed
his chances against Pacquiao.

He singled out no one in particular, but Mayweather clearly made his case as the planet's best boxer.

Even Pacquiao himself acknowledges Mayweather's brilliance.

"Give credit to him. He won tonight. He's proved it," said Pacquiao.

Pacquiao vows to do better than Judah

LAS VEGAS – If there’s one Floyd Mayweather fight that caught Manny Pacquiao’s eye, it’s the
undefeated American’s 2006 tussle with Zab Judah.

Pacquiao, who on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) tapered off his Los Angeles camp with a final workout at
the Wild Card Gym, is taking his showdown with Mayweather this Saturday (Sunday in Manila) so
seriously that he said he started watching Mayweather’s past fights.

It’s something the Filipino icon does not usually do, but the magnitude of this weekend’s bout is so huge
that he has gone the extra mile.

That’s where the Mayweather-Judah fight comes in, something Pacquiao claimed to have studied
thoroughly.

Judah, a quick southpaw like Pacquiao, gave Mayweather trouble in the first half of their welterweight title
fight. But the Las Vegas-based fighter made adjustments and dominated Judah for the rest of the bout to
earn a unanimous decision.

Still, Judah’s competitiveness against Mayweather has left an impression in Pacquiao.

“I saw a lot of good moves there. I applied them in training,” the WBO welterweight told local and foreign
scribes who were allowed inside the gym to witness the workout.
Somewhere in second round the bout, Judah clipped Mayweather with a right hook to the temple, causing
Mayweather to stumble, his right glove touching the floor.

The referee, Richard Steele, ruled it a slip. But Pacquiao disagrees.

“If you watch the video, the replay, I think so [that it was a knockdown]. Because his glove touched the
canvas. The rules of boxing say that once your glove touches the canvas, it’s considered a knockdown,”
explained Pacquiao, clearly a scholar of this brutal sport.

Mayweather hasn’t been knocked down in his brilliant career. Many believe Pacquiao has a big chance to
become the first man to do so.

So does Pacquiao think he can fare better against Mayweather than Judah did?

“I believe so. We did a lot of things in training. The discipline, the sacrifice,” he said with confidence.

Manny won't walk into Money 'traps

LOS ANGELES - One of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s better known punches is the "check hook", a short left
hook delivered to the jaw quickly and with deadly precision that usually does its job of keeping a foe
either off-rhythm or totally glassed out.

Mayweather used it to knock out foes such as Diego Corrales and Ricky Hatton. Along with the jab to the
body, it is one of the punches that the undefeated American is expected to employ against Manny
Pacquiao when they lock horns next week.

It is the Mayweather signature punch Freddie Roach is most wary of, that's why he's made sure
Pacquiao knows how to deal with it.

"You know, someone shows us his (Mayweather's) check hook and I said we already know how to take
care of that," Roach told Filipino scribes the other day after Pacquiao finished his workout at the Wild
Card Gym here.

For weeks, Roach had been preparing Pacquiao for a complicated fighter such as Mayweather, whose
accurate counterpunching and tight shoulder-roll defense make him the best in the game.

Roach thinks he has succeeded, with the outcome that will validate his work being revealed on May 2
(May 3 in Manila) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

On Saturday (Sunday in Manila) afternoon, neither Roach nor Pacquiao faced scribes after another
training session that included some rounds of sparring and mitt work. The Filipino icon was the first to
leave the venue in the passenger seat of his Mercedes sports car, followed by Roach's vehicle of the
same brand.

Perhaps Roach thought he had already made his point the past few days that there's no need for him to
reiterate.
"We won't walk into his (Mayweather's) traps. Again, it's not that complicated," the bespectacled
cornerman earlier said.

"Manny knows exactly what to do with that."

Pacquiao's ex-Thai foe says 'overconfident'

Mayweather will lose
LAS VEGAS - The Thai opponent whom Manny Pacquiao shocked to win his first world title thinks Floyd
Mayweather Jr. will suffer the same fate as his against the Filipino icon.

Former boxer Chatchai Sasakul recalled entering his 1998 WBC flyweight title defense against Pacquiao
oozing with confidence.

"I didn't know him that time and I underestimated him," Sasakul, through his interpreter Tiya, told a
couple of Filipino scribes outside a Thai restaurant just a few steps from the Wild Card Gym in Los
Angeles.

Pacquiao broke his Los Angeles camp Monday (Tuesday in Manila) and headed to Las Vegas for his clash
with Mayweather. Sasakul, for his part, is putting his money on his former conqueror.

During that fateful afternoon in Phuttamonthon, Thailand, Sasakul - a seasoned boxer and defending
champion - was dominating Pacquiao - then just a skinny, free-swinging flyweight - for the entire fight.
He was looking good against the stubborn challenger.

But things quickly turned around after Pacquiao pummeled Sasakul with a right hook and a left uppercut
that forced him to the ropes, delivering the coup de grace in the form of a booming left straight -
Pacquiao's signature punch.

Sasakul was counted out, and a new champion emerged in Pacquiao. The Thai blamed the loss on
overconfidence, something he says Mayweather is displaying right now.

"He should not be that confident," said Sasakul, who now trains other boxers. "I think Mayweather will
lose to Pacquiao because Mayweather thinks he's better."

Sasakul then went on to recount Pacquiao's punching power, something he claimed Mayweather
doesn't have.

"He [Pacquiao] was very strong, very forceful," he said.

Sasakul added that there's no way Mayweather can knock Pacquiao out in their showdown this week at
the MGM Grand here.

"Mayweather's not a strong puncher, so he's not gonna be able to send Pacquiao down. But Pacquiao
can - and will - take down Mayweather," he ended.
Mayweather on studying Pacquiao tapes:
Never
LAS VEGAS - Manny Pacquiao revealed the other day that he had reviewed Floyd Mayweather's fight with
southpaw Zab Judah as part of his preparation for the undefeated American in their clash this Saturday
(Sunday in Manila).

The same, however, can't be said for Mayweather.

Staying true to his claim that Pacquiao is just another opponent, Mayweather bared that he hasn't
checked out Pacquiao's previous fights on video.

"What videos? Uh, never," a confident Mayweather said in response to a Filipino reporter's question on
whether he studied any of Pacquiao's past bouts.

The pound-for-pound king on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) made his arrival at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena in style, entering the arena on board a black SUV. A marching band preceded his arrival,
and at least three male hosts took turns in entertaining the sizable crowd.

Mayweather, sporting a white TMT hoodie - short for "The Money Team," which he calls his crew - with
matching pants, walked the red carpet to the stage and greeted his supporters. He thanked his team,
the media and the fans, promising victory this weekend.

Afterwards, his interview session with various media outfits began, and the question on the kind of
preparation he took for the Pacquiao fight popped up.

He insisted he hasn't done anything special, not even reviewing tapes.

An exception was Pacquiao's fourth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez wherein the fighting congressman
got knocked out cold, but that was hardly a review.

"Obviously [I watched it], [but] only the highlights," Mayweather added.

Asked about his game plan to ensure he ends up with his hands raised again - for the 48th time, if ever -
the Las Vegas-based boxer said it's simple.

"My strategy is just to listen and be smart," he said.

‘Check hook’ ni Floyd paghahandaan ni

Manny
LOS ANGELES – Ang isa sa pamatay na suntok niFloyd Mayweather Jr. ay ang “check hook”, isang
maikling left hook na tumatama sa panga ng kanyang kalaban at maaaring makapagpabagsak.

Ginamit ito ni Mayweather laban kina Diego Corrales at Ricky Hatton.

Kasama ang jab sa katawan, ito ay ang suntok ng undefeated American na inaasahang makikita ni
Manny Pacquiao sa kanilang laban sa susunod na Linggo.

Ito ang signature punch ni Mayweather na gusto ni trainer Freddie Roach na mapag-aralan ni Pacquiao.

“You know, someone shows us his (Mayweather’s) check hook and I said we already know how to take
care of that,” sabi ni Roach kamakalawa sa mga Filipino scribes matapos ang workout ni Pacquiao sa
Wild Card Gym dito.

Sa nakaraang mga linggo ay inihanda ni Roach si Pacquiao laban sa isang complicated fighter kagaya ni
Mayweather, ang accurate counterpunching at shoulder-roll defense ang nag-angat sa kanya sa boxing.

Alam ni Roach na magtatagumpay siya sa kanyang itinuro kay Pacquiao.

Noong Sabado ay hindi nagpaunlak ng panayam sina Roach at Pacquiao makaraan ang kanilang training
session na tinampukan ng rounds ng sparring at mitt work.

Unang umalis sa venue ang Filipino icon at sumakay sa passenger seat ng kanyang Mercedes sports car
kasunod si Roach.

‘King-sized’ defense mulled vs Durham

Ginebra braces for Meralco ‘rebound’
MANILA, Philippines - Barangay Ginebra could light up its campaign with unwavering defense against
import Allen Durham while the Meralco Bolts could thunder back in the fight with crucial offensive
rebounds.

The Gin Kings proved it Sunday before over 14,000 fans as they put the cuff on Durham through Sol
Mercado, who also made the go-ahead basket to level the series at one-all with an 82-79 victory in the
PBA Governors Cup best-of-seven title playoff at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The two teams returned to the drawing boards as the Gin Kings got back at the Bolts in Game Two, two
nights after Durham exploded for 46 points to lead Meralco to a 114-109 win in overtime in the series
opener.

Ginebra held Durham to 22 points on 10-of-24 shooting Sunday with Mercado as the main defender and
either Justin Brownlee and Japeth Aguilar providing a second line of defense.

With Durham somehow neutralized, the Kings led by as many as 15 points in the third before weathering
a Meralco rally in the payoff period.

“Sol certainly has got his disadvantage defending Allen Durham. (Meralco coach) Norman (Black) will
surely adjust, and we have to find other ways to defend Allen,” said Cone.
The Ginebra mentor said playing tough defense is the best way to contain Durham and the rest of the
Bolts.

“We had a tough shooting night and it just seemed like the shots that we normally make just didn’t go in, a
lot of in-and-out especially around the basket. But we said at halftime even though we weren’t playing
well offensively, we felt if we could hang on defensively we could win in the end,” said Cone.

“Your defense is your constant. We changed the match-ups and let Sol have Durham and he did a great
job just trying to limit his touches,” Cone added.

“When Allen got by Sol, which was not very often, either Japeth and Justin was there to help,” Cone also
said.

Curiously, Mercado preserved his sterling defensive effort with a big offensive rebound that led to a key
put-back in the closing seconds.

Black said they paid the price in yielding crucial offensive rebounds to the Kings.

“I told my players it’s difficult to win a game like this if you don’t rebound the basketball, and we’ve got
beaten on the boards badly in the first half,” said Black. “We actually lost the game on an offensive
rebound by Sol Mercado.”

The two teams were tied on defensive rebounds at 34, but the Kings beat the Bolts on the offensive
board, 15-11.

Black said they would also focus on getting the rebounds for the rest of the series.

“That’s the number one thing we have to address in practice,” said Black.

Bolts outlast Kings in Game 1

MANILA, Philippines - They took it all in – the unrelenting drive from the other side and the roar of the
crowd but nothing could simply unnerve the Meralco Bolts.

Not Barangay Ginebra’s third-quarter breakaway, not an 11-point deficit with six minutes left in regulation
and not LA Tenorio’s career-high 36-point performance, including a clutch runner that sent the game into
overtime.

The Bolts kept their cool and played steady throughout and took care of business in the extra period,
drubbing the Gin Kings, 114-109, in Game One of their PBA Governors Cup title playoff before a crowd of
over 14,000 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Coming out with the energy and passion that carried them into their first finals appearance, the Bolts
pulled one over the Kings for the first time in the season.

“Good time to beat them,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.

“(It’s the) first game of the championship, and it’s a well-fought game. We struggled a bit until Anjo Caram
started in the second half and gave us some lift on his defense against LA. Allen Durham has always
been a driving force for us. In the end, the others started clicking,” Black also said.
Durham churned out a near triple-double game with 46 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, and drew
the needed support from Chris Newsome, Reynel Hugnatan and Jimmy Alapag as the Bolts sustained
their romp from their semifinal conquest of the top seeded TNT KaTropa Texters.

It became extra special for Alapag as he banged in two three-pointers to tie Allan Caidic’s record of 1,242
career triples – the most by anybody in the local pro league.

The game hung in the balance when Alapag drained the record-tying trey to push Meralco ahead by one
at 101-100 with time down to 33.4 seconds.

The Bolts later made it 102-100 on a split by Durham with 6.8 ticks to go.

The Kings, however, won’t just fade away easily, sending the game into overtime on one of the numerous
big shots by Tenorio in the contest.

But the Bolts won’t be denied as Durham asserted himself in OT.

Tenorio waxed hot from the start, engaging Durham in a shootout with both making 20 points in the first
half.

The Ginebra ace playmaker fired seven as they pummeled the Bolts, 25-11, in the second period to enjoy
a 53-42 lead at the turn.

The Bolts blew an eight-point lead and trailed by 11 at the half as they suddenly threw clunkers – 3-of-22
– in the second period.

With Sol Mercado and Mark Caguioa taking over in the third, the Kings opened their 16-point lead at 58-
42.

Meralco, however, made a key run in a stretch bridging the last two quarters as the Bolts zoomed ahead
at 81-80.

And the two teams engaged in a gripping duel to the finish. To Alapag and Tenorio belonged clutch
buckets forcing overtime at 102.

The scores:

MERALCO 114 – Durham 46, Newsome 17, Hugnatan 15, Alapag 13, Faundo 8, Amer 5, Caram 4,
Hodge 4, Buenafe 2, Nabong 0, Uyloan 0.

GINEBRA 109 – Tenorio 36, Brownlee 17, Caguioa 14, Devance 13, Mercado 8, Thompson 8,
Aguilar 6, Cruz 5, Marcelo 2, Mariano 0.

Quarterscores: 31-28, 42-53, 75-80, 102-102, 114-109

Donaire open to rematch with
Rigondeaux
MANILA, Philippines – WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire Jr. isn’t closing the door on a
rematch with one-time conqueror Guillermo Rigondeaux of Cuba.

Rigondeaux (17-0, with 11 KOs) is the slick, undefeated boxer from Cuba who outpointed Donaire in
2013. He holds the WBA version of the super bantamweight title, and is considered the division’s lineal
champion.

That makes a rematch between Donaire and him a logical choice, if the former takes care of business
against Jessie Magdaleno on November 5.

“When I beat Magdaleno I'm open to all challenges,” Donaire told Philstar.com in an online
conversation.

“That's what I'm here for. I'll fight anyone,” added the Filipino-American, who will defend his crown against
the undefeated Magdaleno in the undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s fight with Jessie Vargas.

Getting past Magdaleno (23-0, with 17 KOs), Donaire acknowledged, won’t be an easy task. The
champion is wary of his challenger’s skill set and, more importantly, his hunger.

“He (Magdaleno)’s a skillful fighter with good speed and power. Yes, I have watched his fights,” Donaire
continued, adding he’s started reviewing the prospect’s past bouts.

Donaire once moved up to featherweight and even won a title, but slid back to super bantamweight
following his knockout loss to a more powerful Nicholas Walters in 2014.

This time, he plans on lingering in the division a little longer.

“As of now I'm comfortable at this weight but I am always searching for more challenges,” said Donaire.

That makes another clash with Rigondeaux inevitable.

Pacio vows to learn from failed ONE title

bid
MANILA, Philippines — When the young Joshua Pacio took on the reigning sStrawweight king of ONE
Championship Yoshitaka Naito last Friday in Myanmar, the Filipino looked like he was primed for a
coronation.

For two rounds, he did all of the right things — connect his punches, evade the champ’s takedown tries,
have his feet meet their targets. 

For two rounds, he looked like he had the match in the bag. 



But for Naito, who had been unbeaten in 11 outings, all he needed was one window. Twelve years older
than Pacio, the fighter out of Japan had a swollen mug in the third period. But he dug deep for patience
— and it yielded him an opportunity to strike. Eventually, the belt, once again.
“Para sakin, hindi ito defeat, kundi lesson,” Pacio told Philstar.com on the way back to Manila. “By
Monday, [you can] expect, nasa gym na ako.”

Tasting the first loss of his pro career, the budding fighter of Team Lakay said he felt he was doing well.
Heck, he even thought he’s going to pull through and emerge as the new champion.

“Feel na feel ko na eh. Kaso, kaunting-kaunting pagkakamali lang talaga,” Pacio rued.

“Nung na-feel ko ‘yung mga suntok niya, ‘Medyo malakas,’ inisip ko. Pero naisip ko, kaya ko namang i-
dala [ang laban]. Pinakita ko [sa] judges na ako parin ang dominant.”

And he did.

Pacio leaned on his mastery of wushu sanshou — the foundation of his skillset — and kept the champion
on his toes. The amount of work he put into his grappling game also showed, as he was able to fend off
almost every takedown attempt of Naito.

But little did Pacio know, that his foe would do it on his back. Literally.

At the winding moments of the third round, Pacio tried to shake the Japanese off, turning his back. And in
a swift moment, he was caught in figure four which led to a rear-naked choke.

Had the Filipino won, he would’ve pulled off a feat that would enshrine him among the Philippines' MMA
greats. He could’ve become the youngest Filipino world champion.

“Definitely the happiest and the best fight ever. I showed Myanmar what I can do, all my skills, and I won,”
Naito told shortly after the decision was announced.

Although he admitted that Pacio gave him quite the scare.

“I really thought I was going to die. I was very tired,” he coursed through a translator. “Joshua is a tough
opponent.”

“The punches and kicks were heavy. It really hurt when they hit me,” he added.

Naito added that Pacio defended well against his tackles, and even noted that the latter has all the
makings of a future world champion.

One look at Pacio and one could easily surmise that he isn’t wallowing over the defeat. In the long travel
from Yangon to Manila, he was all smiles, and even picking his teammates for jokes.

“High spirts parin nama [ako],” he said. “Babalik ako to work on my weaknesses and to be able to come
back again [in this stage] again.”

“Mlaking experience ‘to. Masaya ako, kasi nakatapak ako sa isang main event. Pero di parin talaga sapat
‘yun. Babaik ako.”

“For his age, he’s still young. Marami pa ‘yang aabutin,” Pacio’s coach Mark Sangiao added.