Pacquiao-Hatton Premonition: Down goes Pacquiao!

Las Vegas, NV- May 2, 2009

It’s the 11^th round, of this epic battle. Pacquiao waits in his corner as he looks at Hatton across the ring.  The Hitman’s face is a bloody mess, but determination sees through his eyes, and Pacquiao, well you might as well call him Pretty Pinoy Pacman (PPP), no marks, no hits, absolutely flawless. We see Pacquiao’s face waitng, the bell rings and they meet in the middle. With a blinding speed, Pacquiao storms at Hatton with a series of combinations, the hitman eats a lot of gloves. The Pac bobs and weaves and Hatton couldn’t get a shot in. He then clinches the Pac. The referee breaks them, it took a few seconds and as soon as they were separated, Hatton moves forward, pushes the Pac then bends his head down. Hatton anchors himself and delivers a huge blow on Pacquiao’s left kidney.

The Pacman gets hit, big-time, and he falls flat on the canvas. Hatton and the referee were both surprised, and for a moment they didn’t know what to do. The announcer is shocked and so is the crowd. “Down goes Pacquiao! Down goes Pacquiao! The television announcer yells.

This is the same hit that pulled Dela Hoya down against Hopkins, he never got up. The same way Tommy Hearns was down, a couple of decades ago against Hagler, he never got up. Foreman against Ali in the 7th, Foreman never got up.  Tyson-Lewis, Tyson stayed down for the rest of his career. The list of legends goes on and on, it’s that one hit, that punch that one never sees that strikes down these seemingly immortals down to earth into.

But this is the Pacquiao. Down in the canvas, his life flashes back for a second. He sees the alleys of his cigarette peddling days all the way to his coronation in the canyon of heroes. He then sees faces, flashing right through his eyes. Faces of his countrymen, looking at him and in their eyes he sees sparks of hope and courage. He opens his eyes and he sees the referee counting, “five…six”, and somehow, he is able to get up at the count of nine.

He is able to survive the Hitman’s flurry and the bell rings. Back in his stool, Roach and Buboy, tries to re-energize him. He looks at Hatton across, and he realizes, that for a first time in a long, long while, he’s in trouble. He closes his eyes and calls on the powers above that he usually calls on to. He briefly looks back and he sees a glimpse of the crowd cheering him on. The faces of his countrymen that flashed a few seconds ago flashes again and gives him a surge of energy and hope.

He again looks straight, and tells himself, This is it! This is my time. This is my moment. This is my people’s destiny. The bell rings, the Pac jumps straight out of his stool. Pacquiao is back and hits Hatton. With an aggression that no one has ever seen before, with a speed that no one will ever see again and with a power that is unknown to many, he attacks the Hitman. THE PAC IS BACK. There maybe that lucky unseen punch, he may get knocked down with it but never out. As you can see, this  man doesn’t fight alone, his strength carries with it the power of his people, the power of hope.