'Referee a profound idiot for not stopping Pacquiao match'
'Referee a profound idiot for not stopping Pacquiao match' …but Pacquiao, nevertheless, is a ‘phenomenon, not human’
MANILA, Philippines - Much has been said about Manny Pacquiao’s brilliant performance against Mexican foe, Antonio Margarito. Both showed courage and endurance—enough reason for some quarters to say both were winners.
For boxing analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz, there was one clear loser: referee Laurence Cole.
In an interview with Mornings @ ANC, the Sri Lanka-born analyst said: “He’s a profound idiot. God only knows why he did not stop the game…Maybe he just did not like Pacquiao.”
He said Cole refereed for Pacquiao’s controversial fight against Marco Antonio Barrera in November 2003. During that fight, Pacquiao slipped but it was deemed a knockout by Cole. "When Pacquiao knocked-out Barrera, he called it a slip,” he said.
Pacquiao snatched his 8th title through a unanimous decision on Saturday night (Sunday in Manila) in Dallas, Texas. He has won other world titles at 112, 122, 126, 130, 135, 140 pounds.
While Pacquiao did fail to knock out Margarito, Nathanielsz and other analysts say the game was already over around the 9th round.
Margarito’s eyes were nearly swollen shut, and there was no chance he could get a turnaround, they said.
“I kept predicting that the fight would be over around the 7th round. The cuts came up so badly, the referee should have stopped the fight. I was wrong because of the idiot,” Nathanielsz said.
Dangerous cuts
The analyst said Margarito could have gone blind if he received more punches to the wound.
The end-result may have also badly hurt Pacquiao, he added. “Pacquiao will suffer psychologically from the stigma,” he said.
In an interview with boxing website fanhouse.com, Cole explained he was close to stopping the fight after seeing Margarito’s swollen face.
He said: “In those rounds [10th and 11th], I started to sneak in closer so that I could work a lot closer and wait to see how Margarito was responding. I wanted a reason to stop it…I guess that Tony kind of knew that I was getting close and that I wanted to stop it, because Tony kept firing back and he kept fighting. Every time that I got close, and he'd eat two or three punches, he would fire back.”
Pacquiao actually got a beating in the 6th round when a glove got tangled in the ring, allowing Margarito to give him a good shot.
Nathanielsz said his courage got him through. “By the 10th round, he had his mouth open, you knew he was having a hard time breathing…but he’s a phenomenon…I don’t think he’s human actually,” he said.
Strange animal
Nathanielsz even called Pacquiao a “strange animal…He’s the only boxer I know who shows mercy towards his opponents.”
Once Pacquiao got his groove back from the punch in the 6th round, the game went clearly his way thereafter.
Even Coach Freddie Roach admitted his boxer was not as aggressive enough compared to the early rounds, considering the damage already done to Margarito.
This “compassion” could have probably saved Margarito from going blind.
Pacquiao admitted after the game he could not fight again with the same intensity. He called it his toughest fight yet.
Nonetheless, Nathanielsz sees another match in the future.
He could only dream of a Pacquiao match against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. “Maybe he can get Mayweather, even in prison,” he said.
If that does not work out, he would want a third one against Juan Manuel Marquez. The latter had complained he had been cheated in the last match.
“Let’s shut his mouth once and for all,” Nathanielsz said.
Reposted From ABS-CBN News
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