RP sports analyst: Pacquiao win showed heart of Pinoys

MANILA, Philippines – A Filipino veteran sports analyst on Monday said the historic win of boxing champion and pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao against Oscar De La Hoya showed the heart of a Filipino. In an interview on dzBB radio, Quinito Henson said that amid tall odds, Pacquiao showed that "a David can slay a Goliath." "Parang yung meron siyang challenge, mas lalo siyang susubok. Doon siya gumagaling, doon niya pinapakita sa mundo, na yes we can. (He takes on any challenge. He showed the world that yes, the Filipino can) He showed the heart of a champion, he showed the heart of a Filipino," Henson said. "Napakita niya that even if he’s an underdog, hindi siya titigil (He showed that even if he was the underdog, he will not give up)," Henson added. The welterweight bout between Pacquiao – who went up in weight for a second consecutive match – and the naturally bigger De La Hoya was initially dubbed as a "mismatch" instead of a Dream Match by sports analysts. Henson said that before the Pacquiao-De La Hoya tiff on Sunday (Saturday, US time), eight out of ten foreign journalists found Pacquiao out of De La Hoya’s league. But Henson said Pacquiao proved them wrong. Henson added that it is high time for De La Hoya to retire and hang his boxing gloves. "I felt he was worn and overfought. Masyado na siyang maraming laban. I felt it was time already to retire nakita ko na wala siyang pinakita kay Manny (He had a fought a lot of battes. I felt it was time already to retire because he was no match to Manny)," Henson said. De La Hoya threw in the towel before the start of the ninth round, giving the huge upset win to Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao's victory was officially a technical knockout. - Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV