Warning for Pacquiao - SPORTING CHANCE by Joaquin M. Henson

Referee Bruce McTavish was tempted to disqualify tough Thai challenger Wethya Sakmuangklang for repeatedly hitting below the belt but held back for World Boxing Council (WBC) International superbantamweight champion Manny Pacquiao to prove himself in a slam-bang bout before some 15,000 wildly-cheering fans at the Amas Provincial gym in Kidapawan last Saturday.

"It was a judgment call," said McTavish in his Angeles City home on the phone yesterday. "I had the prerogative to stop the fight. The Thai must have thrown at least 10 low blows. He certainly did his homework because he concentrated on a body attack, realizing Manny’s supposed to be weak in the midsection."

McTavish explained that a blow below the belly button around the hip bone is considered foul. Most fans think only a wayward punch on the groin or the crotch is foul. Under WBC rules, a fighter hit by a low blow is allowed up to five minutes to recover – if he refuses to resume fighting after the recovery period, he loses by technical knockout or if in the referee’s judgment, he is unable to continue because of the foul blow then he is declared winner by disqualification.

The disqualification clause is sometimes abused so a referee must know if a fighter is faking or not. In Pacquiao’s case, McTavish said he wasn’t badly hurt by Wethya’s low blows and "took a rest" each time a point was deducted from the Thai’s scorecard. McTavish took two points away in the fourth round and one in the fifth.

McTavish said he felt Pacquiao could take Wethya’s body blows but unnecessarily exposed himself to more pain because of a small protective cup. "I noticed Manny wore a small cup," added McTavish. "Some fighters like to wear a small cup because they can’t move as well wearing a big cup. But the downside is you’re not as well protected from low blows. I thought Manny was prepared to take a body beating — he looked in great physical condition. It’s just that psychologically, he doesn’t like getting hit on the body."

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As the closest observer to the action inside the ring, McTavish said Wethya’s big mistake was fighting Pacquiao toe-to-toe. Pacquiao, his big heart swelling, unloaded his biggest bombs in the sixth stanza and Wethya crumpled to the canvas. The Thai was up at eight then staggered down to one knee, prompting McTavish to call it a night.

The fight did little to toughen Pacquiao for bigger game except to remind him that he’s got a lot of fine-tuning to do. The former WBC flyweight titlist is booked to leave for the US on May 17 and start a Stateside campaign for a second world title. But is Pacquiao ready to duke it out with the likes of Willie Jorrin and Michael Brodie?

Pacquiao was virtually defenseless against Wethya and repeatedly got tagged. His fightplan was to initially box — meaning, hold back his power punches, wait for the Thai to tire, then turn on the heat in the middle rounds. He executed the plan but the problem was his lack of defense.

Under normal circumstances, Pacquiao’s defense is his power offense. Without his heavy artillery, Pacquiao was a sucker for Wethya’s punches.

Pacquiao didn’t make a mistake in his fightplan. He couldn’t risk slugging it out from the start because Wethya came with fearsome credentials. A natural featherweight, Wethya went the distance in losing to Luisito Espinosa’s tormentor Guty Espadas, Jr. last June and boasted a 23-2 record, with 17 KOs. It was a cautious strategy but a smart one.

It was just that Pacquiao’s defense was so porous that Wethya had no difficulty landing nearly everything he had in his arsenal. Either Pacquiao was poorly trained in defense or he just didn’t care to defend himself.

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"Manny survived on ego," said McTavish. "The defense just wasn’t there. His power made all the difference. But he got hit too much. If his defense won’t improve, he’ll have a short career. In the US, he’ll face the big guns from Mexico and the bad black guys from Philadelphia — they won’t go down easily. They won’t be intimidated by Manny."

The first thing Pacquiao’s business manager Rod Nazario should do when they land on US soil is to look for a trainer in the mold of a Dee Dee Armour who took an army of Filipino battlers under his wing in the 1960s or an Alton Merkerson or a George Benton. Armour, a black Chicago drillmaster, lived here a few years and turned the Araneta stable’s top fighters into world contenders.

Pacquiao, the WBC No. 3 contender in the 122-pound class, is a fight or two away from a title shot. He’s got too much to lose not to work on his defense. Wethya exposed Pacquiao’s weakness glaringly last Saturday. That should be a cue — and a warning — for Nazario not to take things for granted in Pacquiao’s next fight.