MANILA, Philippines – Displaying grace and class, Filipino ring icon Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao readily accepted his stunning knockout defeat at the hands of his greatest rival, Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico.
In a phone interview on "TV Patrol" on Sunday, Pacquiao said his loss was just part of the nature of sports.
“Ginawa nating ang lahat, at talaga naman na kailangang tanggapin natin. ‘Yan ang trabaho natin, hindi lahat ng panahon ay panalo,” Pacquiao said.
“Nakita naman nila ang performance ko, aggressive. Maganda ang performance ko. Lucky punch talaga,” he added.
Marquez knocked down Pacquiao for the first time ever in the third round, although Pacquiao cancelled it out with a knockdown of his own in the fifth round.
But late in the sixth round, Pacquiao walked right into a short right hand by Marquez, and the “Pacman” dropped face first to the canvas and was motionless for several moments.
His wife, Jinkee, was hysterical after watching the boxer get knocked out.
“Nagulat ako at natako. First time kong nakita si Manny na na-knock out talaga. Matagal siya bago makabangon. Natakot ako kung ano nangyari sa kanya,” Jinkee said in an interview on "The Buzz."
Pacquiao went to a hospital after the bout as a precautionary measure, but the results of his CT scan were negative.
“Okay naman, ayos naman ang lahat,” he said. “Galing na kami sa ospital at wala namang diperensya.”
The knockout notwithstanding, Pacquiao seemed satisfied with his performance as he showed better movement and aggressiveness that he lacked in his previous fights.
“Maganda ‘yung laban namin. Balik na ‘yung aggressiveness ko. Talagang natiyempuhan lang tayo,” Pacquiao said, adding that he was leading on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage.
But he said that he has accepted his defeat.
“Sa larangan ng sports, may panalo at may talo,” Pacquiao said. “Dapat handa ka rin na tanggapin kapag dumating na ang panahon na talo.”
source: abs-cbnnews.com
