Manila Ice

Manila Ice is first and foremost a type of punch originally named for the Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, a 3-time BWAA and The Ring Fighter of the Year awardee, current no. 1 Pound-for-Pound boxer, and the first 7-division world champion in boxing history.

It was invented in preparation for his first fight as a Super Featherweight against legendary Mexican boxer Erik Morales on March 19, 2005^[1] at the MGM Grand Garden Arena of Las Vegas and was used in almost all his fights effectively since then.

The Manila Ice was planned and created by Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao's head trainer Freddie Roach, owner of the famous Wild Card Gym in West Hollywood, in the months leading to the Morales fight.^[2] It is a hard punch created by a right hook which initial purpose was to support Pacquiao's left cross. The punch was invented because of the reason that before that fight, many boxing experts see Pacquiao's boxing style as one-dimensional, meaning the hard punches come only from one hand; in Pacquiao's case, his left hand. The proof of that claim came to fruition when he challenged Mexican counter-puncher Juan Manuel Márquez for Márquez's unified WBA/IBF Featherweight titles and Pacquiao's Ring Magazine Featherweight title last May 9, 2004^[3] at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in a fight which many people believed was the 2004 Fight of the Year, only if it was not for the Erik Morales - Marco Antonio Barrera rubber match^[4][5] winning the award.^[6] After knocking down the champion three times in the very 1st round, Pacquiao relied heavily in his left-hand punches, while Marquez, being a technically-sound fighter, figured out the style of the challenger and pretty much controlled most of the next 11 rounds, and the fight finished in a controversial draw. Freddie Roach stated if only Manny had a strong right-hand punch then, he could have been the champion.

Manny Pacquiao's "New Form"

So Roach thought of developing Manny Pacquiao's right-hand punches, and he master-minded the creation of the Manila Ice. As said earlier, Pacquiao does not use his right hands much in his fights before. In the first Morales fight though, Pacquiao can be seen using his right hand more, executing Roach's game plan in using his right-hand jabs and eventually the Manila Ice. This fight saw a new Pacman. Although the fight finished in favor of the Morales, Manila Ice was revealed to the boxing world.

Since then, it became Pacquiao's other deadly weapon besides his left hand punches. Manila Ice became as much powerful as the left cross, combined with the angle, speed and power Pacquiao now possessed in both hands. Roach also backed that statement up going as far as saying the Manila Ice is much stronger than his left cross. Early evidence was seen when Pacquiao defeated Hector Velasquez on September 10, 2005 at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles in a fight (staged as a tune-up leading up to the Morales rematch) that featured his former tormentor Erik Morales in the co-main event.^[7] Pacquiao stunned Velasquez in the 6th round with the Manila Ice, and knocked him out in the dying seconds of the round.

It can be said now that the Manila Ice is Pacquiao's favorite weapon. There were succeeding fights in which the punch helped him defeat some notable and Hall-of-Fame opponents, including: Erik Morales, knocking him out in the 10th round of the rematch on January 21, 2006;^[8] Óscar Larios, who flew to the Philippines and was valiant in his first fight as a super featherweight in a unanimous decision defeat on July 2, 2006 at the famed Araneta Coliseum; Erik Morales again in their 3rd match held on November 18, 2006^[9] in front of 18,000+ raucous Las Vegas crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center where the Manila Ice clearly had Morales hurt in the 3rd round and Pacquiao knocked him out before the round ended; Jorge Solís who was knocked-out in the 8th round on April 14, 2007 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas; and Marco Antonio Barrera via unanimous decision on October 6, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in their rematch 4 years in the making. After those fights, Pacquiao has always been described as a complete fighter, having great technical skills and tremendous power in both hands.

Its effect was somehow "not in showing" in his rematch against Marquez for the WBC and Ring Magazine Super Featherweight championship last March 15, 2008^[10] at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Although the Manila Ice is a very strong right hook, it has other weaknesses apart from a tight defense on the left side of the head. Since Pacquiao use the Manila Ice in a southpaw stance, making his right hand his lead, what the opponent does to minimize damage if not avoid it is to move to Pacquiao's left side, although he becomes prone to another of Pacquiao's lethal left-hand punches. Unfortunately for Pacquiao, Marquez did it yet avoided the punches most of the fight. It proved how a great boxer Marquez is. However, having also good if not great technical skills, combined with power in both hands greater than that of Marquez's, Pacquiao still won the match, and by only 1 point on one judge's scorecard. The 3rd-round knockdown for Pacquiao proved the difference in a fight many fair critics said could have gone either way. Pacquiao became a 3-time world champion (actually, should have been his 4th world title, only if one will consider the Ring Magazine Featherweight title he held before) by this win.

In his first fight as a Lightweight, Pacquiao faced Mexican-American David Díaz at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on June 28, 2008.^[11] The Filipino showed the effectivity of the Manila Ice in a wonderful showing of the sweet science, punishing the defending champion through 9 brutal rounds, seen through Diaz's swollen, bruised, and bloody face. Manila Ice, combined with thunderous right uppercuts and jab made a cut above Díaz's nose bridge in the second round and cuts above both eyes. Pacquiao won the match via TKO in the 9th round, giving him the WBC Lightweight championship as his 4th world title in 4 weight divisions (if one will consider his Ring Magazine Featherweight title, this win would have been his 5th world title) and becoming the first Asian to have ever achieved that feat.

The Manila Ice is gaining popularity and might soon join the ranks of Jack Dempsey's Dempsey Roll and Tommy Hearns' Flicker Jab as one of the best punches in boxing history.

Mega Fights

• Main Articles: The Dream Match and Ricky Hatton vs. Manny Pacquiao

Two other boxing greats that became victims of the said Manila Ice were former 10-time world champion Oscar De La Hoya^[12] on December 6, 2008, that year's mega-fight that generated 1.25 million PPV buys, and Britain's Ricky Hatton^[13] on May 2, 2009, both of which were held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena of Las Vegas.

Full display

In what could have been the first full display of the Manila Ice's devastating effect, and probably the first of many to come, dropping down from Welterweight to Light Welterweight, Pacquiao "introduced" Manila Ice to the defending champion Ricky Hatton in their much-anticipated fight, the first mega-fight of 2009 and first mega-fight post-Oscar De La Hoya (in his first fight as a welterweight, Pacquiao sent De La Hoya into retirement after he beat him^[14]), utilizing it more often than before in punishing Hatton, and finishing the defending champion in just two rounds.^[15] Pacquiao frequently landed the Manila Ice at will, seemingly hurting Hatton the moment it first landed up to the end, evident in the two knockdowns he suffered in the first round alone. In the second round, Pacquiao continued to punish Hatton punch after punch, still landing the Manila Ice frequently, and finished him off by landing a wicked overhand left that Hatton did not see coming just before the round ended. The fight generated 825,000 PPV buys in the United States. In his 4th straight win in as many weight divisions, it seems everyone is now appropriately calling Pacquiao a 6-time World Champion after capturing the lineal championship titles held by Hatton (IBO and Ring Magazine Light Welterweight). Many boxing experts and knowledgeables consider The Ring Magazine titles, although not major titles, more credible than that of the four major sanctioning bodies (WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO).

Following Mega Bouts

• Main Article: Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto

On November 14, 2009, Pacquiao faced the Puerto Rican 3-time world champion Miguel Cotto in front of a sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena for Cotto's WBO Welterweight championship (contested at a "catchweight" of 145 lbs, 2 lbs below the Welterweight limit of 147 lbs) in an event billed as "Firepower". In the first half of the contest, the fight turned out to be even, as both fighters traded punches that thrilled the 16,200 people inside the arena. In the 3rd round, Pacquiao dropped Miguel Cotto for the first time using his patented right hand punch (one can actually call Pacquiao's right hand punch to be the Manila Ice). In the 4th, Pacquiao dropped Cotto again, this time using a left uppercut to the jaw that really hurt the champion. As the rounds progressed, Pacquiao stalked and punished Cotto that eventually led to the stoppage in the 12th round by referee Kenny Bayless.^[16] The win gave Pacquiao an unprecedented 7th title in as many weight divisions.^[17] The event was the last mega-fight of 2009 and it generated 1.25 million PPV buys in the United States, making it the most-watched boxing event of 2009.

References

1. ^ HBO Boxing Event Erik Morales vs Manny Pacquiao
2. ^ Doghouseboxing.com
3. ^ The San Diego-Union Tribune
4. ^ HBO Boxing Event Morales vs Barrera III
5. ^ Barrera versus Morales trilogy
6. ^ Ring Magazine fights of the year
7. ^ HBO Boxing Event Erik Morales vs Zahir Raheem
8. ^ HBO Boxing Event Erik Morales vs Manny Pacquiao II
9. ^ HBO Boxing Event Manny Pacquiao vs Erik Morales III
10. ^ HBO Boxing Event Juan Manuel Marquez vs Manny Pacquiao II
11. ^ HBO Boxing Event David Diaz vs Manny Pacquiao
12. ^ HBO Boxing Event Oscar De La Hoya vs Manny Pacquiao
13. ^ BBC Sport | Boxing
14. ^ The Dream Match
15. ^ HBO Boxing Event Manny Pacquiao vs Ricky Hatton
16. ^ HBO Boxing Event Manny Pacquiao vs Miguel Cotto
17. ^ Septuple champion

External links

• Pacland
• Manny Pacquiao's Official Page
• Phil Boxing
• Top Rank Inc.
• HBO Boxing