HBO's 24/7 De La Hoya-Pacquiao, Episode II
This week's episode dealt a lot with family. Here's our take:
Best Oscar quote: "Don Nacho Beristain." Love the way that sounds. It's about respect.
Freddie Roach quote: "I don't like Nacho, I think he's an a--hole." Now, that's disrespect.
Angelo Dundee quote: "I think Oscar De La Hoya has all the answers for this guy."
Best supporting cast: We agreed Freddie Roach has his own category. So this week it goes to Amir Kahn, for his sparring with Pac Man, and Buboy Fernandez for his performance on the scale.
Freddie sez: His philosophy on sparring is a throwback to the old Philly gym wars. "I don't hire sparring partners, I hire real fighters. Contenders coming up... Sparring in my gym is not playing."
Walking billboards: "The Ring" magazine, which Oscar owns, has never gotten this much free advertising. Everyone in Oscar's camp is wearing something with "The Ring" logo. Even his son.
Family: The next time you think of a fighter as a ferocious beast, recall the smile on Manny Pacquiao's face when he was sitting on the couch with his pregnant wife listening to his baby's heartbeat. Also, there was an elegance, a quiet sense of self-assurance in the segment that featured Pac Man's parents.
Family, part 2: Reassuring that Oscar and his son sit on the floor and play with the Thomas the Train set, just like me and my son. I guess, the difference is, HBO's cameras aren't in our play room. And, oh yeah, I make slightly less than a kabillion dollars.
Daddy Dearest: We saw it with Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather Jr. So, yeah, Oscar has issues with his dad too. Anyone surprised at this point?
Best workout scene: Oscar doing situps while hanging from his ankles.
Pass the Nachos: Kudos to Nacho for telling it like it is after Oscar's sparring. How many guys actually do that?
For a look at all of the Neutral Corner's coverage of the De La Hoya-Pacquiao fight, click here.
For more than 20 photos of Manny Pacquiao training and with Oscar De La Hoya, click here.
-- CASSIDY
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Comments (1)
I think pacman had issues with his dad too. His dad left his family when he was young. Pacman grew up in extreme poverty in the mountains, because he was a product of broken family. Mostly, he was absent from school because he had to go to town fiestas to box and gave all prizes he won to his mother to buy food. He was not able to finish his elementary grades due to lack of basic school things as pencils crayons etc. His teacher who happened to be a Muslim, advised him to take his studies seriously because education is a ticket out of ignorance and poverty. But out of necessity pacman could not heed his teacher's advice. He had to leave town and family to seek the better future his family deserve. Being young and unschooled it was dangerous. Due to life's miseries, he was angry and hungry and boxing was his chosen profession. There he can absorb every pain life has to offer and unable to finish him and there he can express his rage on life with every blows he throws in return. His fist has terrible impact because it was backed by pain, anger and fire inside him and it was destiny he met Freddie Roach and Mr. Arum. What happened to his Muslim teacher? Oh as seen on t.v. interview, she was soooo proud and happy of her former scrawny student now a world champion. What happened to his dad, now that he's a filthy rich world champion? He grabbed his dad back no matter what, to make his family whole again(a Filipino trait). And besides, if his father did not leave them, pacman could have finished his studies and end up either an office employee or nondescript factory worker, not the popular pacman that graces boxing headlines today. I don't know, but that's what we know about pacman here in the Philippines.