Anyone else getting pumped for manny after all the criticism? (ESPN)

If he's moved in any way by criticism, he's not a true professional, and with his vast experience, I doubt he gives a **** about what some armchair fans say.

 

I think deep down, Manny is fed up with all this and hungry to get the spotlight back to him. Rios most likely will get destroyed

 

I found it funny as hell. For a long time Manny was looked as Jesus Christ himself. He could do no wrong in the eyes of his fans or the boxing media. Now he's receiving a dose of reality and I like it.

 

Rios will take a beating from Pac. Rios is not that good. pac fighting another fighter moving up in weight.

 

Small-mindedness on your part. Pacquiao lives in Philippines. Philippines is not in your country. What's he's surrounded by is nothing but huge respect and admiration. He probably gets small sound-bites as to what America is saying about him. If Pacquiao is motivated by people, then it will because he disappointed his own people and wants to make up for it, not because of what is being said 6 time zones away from him.

 

To an extent this is true, but naysayers and opposition in any form does have great capacity to motivate people, and athletes are people.

 

This^

Whenever Manny gets interviewed, he is always handled with kid gloves and is never asked the HARD questions.

 

manny's going to bludgeon rios.

 

Not excited about this fight. I like Rios and don't want to see him battered. I wish Manny was fighting someone with a better defense.

 

Most professional athletes are moved by criticism and people doubting them. It's generally one of their greatest motivators.

Hell, Michael Jordan, arguably the most competitive person of our sports generation, used to find the most insignificant slights to push himself harder. His Hall of Fame speak showed he ain't forgot a dayum thing folks have said about him.

Shaq got in shape and to a weight he hadn't been in 4-5 years to prove to the Lakers they kept the wrong guy. Peyton Manning took all that "he's done" talk and turned in one of his finest seasons. Aaron Rodgers is STILL mad that he was rated and drafted behind Alex Smith.

And all boxing fans saw what happened when Roy Jones brought out 'The Real R.J.' on Montell Griffin.

Pacquiao LOVES and thrives off of the public adulation. You don't do movies (when u can't act) and albums (when u can't sing) and run for office (when you have no real interest in committing to the day-to-day grind of politics) if you don't have a need for public acceptance.

If he's NOT using this as motivation, then he's just in it for the money. Nothing wrong with that, but it is what it is.

 

Well put:thumbsup

 

Pacquiao still punch drunk guess Marquez landed two lucky punch