Pacquiao survives "feather" test

By Dennis Principe

17.03 - MANILA, Philippines – Reigning IBF world Superbantamweight champion Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines must now realize that campaigning in the featherweight division dominated by the likes of Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales will not be as light as a feather.

Last Saturday in the “Bakbakan sa Maynila” boxing card which he topbilled, Pacquiao had a hard time in his 10-round non-title fight against full-fledged featherweight Serikzan Yeshmangbetov who was often regarded as a nondescript fighter days before the actual fight.

As soon as the opening bell rang, the 24-year old Pacquiao immediately dictated the fight by connecting some crisp left-right combinations and later on floored Yeshmangbetov before the end of the first round with a perfectly timed left hook.

The Kazakhstan champion was able to beat the count and still managed to exchange flurries with Pacquiao.

Pacquiao continued to pummel the Kazakhstan national champion in rounds two and three but Yeshmangbetov gave the near 50,000 crowd a scare when he connected a counter right punch that sent the Filipino champion down on the canvass. Pacquiao immediately stood up and eventually survived the nerve-racking round.

By the fifth round, Pacquiao regained the control of the fight and again floored Yeshmangbetov with a thundering right hook.

Another devastating combination by Pacquiao sent Yeshmangbetov falling backwards, forcing international referee Ver Abainza to stop the fight to save the brave but outclassed Kazakh boxer from further punishment.

Though Pacquiao scored a 5th round Technical Knockout (TKO) win, a number of boxing experts were one in saying that the IBF champion was overconfident against the Kazakh champion and this may spell trouble once he challenge the best featherweights of the world today.

Days before the fight, Pacquiao admitted that he has not seen any of his opponent’s previous fights which is essential in preparing for a specific foe. The card’s promoter Gabriel “Bebot” Elorde revealed that he was able to obtain some tapes of Yeshmangbetov’s previous outings which Pacquiao did not bother to get hold of.

Another proof of Pacquiao’s overconfidence was when he took a quick look at the crowd at ringside and smirked at them after being hit by a punch from Yeshmangbetov.

“It was obvious that he was more concerned in playing with the crowd. Maybe he also wanted to impress a number of VIP’s present during the card. He will definitely be in trouble if he continues to do those styles” noticed by a veteran matchmaker.

Noted boxing manager Sammy Gello-ani remarked that Pacquiao must have been deceived by Yeshmangbetov’s awkward appearance.

After the fight, Pacquiao admitted that he was surprised with his opponent’s performance.

“He’s also strong and I was really surprised by his power” said a visibly relieved Pacquiao.

Business manager Rod Nazario also criticized his ward for being overconfident during the fight.

“Like what happened during the Nedal Hussein fight, Pacquiao thought it will be an easy fight for him. It was obvious he was overconfident for this fight.” Said seemingly upset Nazario.

The win improved Pacquiao’s record to 36-2-1, with 28 KO’s while Yeshmangbetov dropped to 13-10-1, 8 KO’s.