Ronnie Nathanielsz

Even though many expected and hoped Manny Pacquiao would win against the bigger and more experienced opponent in Oscar de la Hoya, many were still surprised with the way he won.

Even experts who were expecting a hard-fought war were surprised with Pacquiao’s domination

"Nagulat ako kay Oscar de la Hoya, di ako nagulat kay Manny Pacquiao. Alam natin ganoon talaga lumaban si Manny Pacquiao… Ang akala ko noong una naghihintay sia (de la Hoya) ng tamang pero after the fourth round, tumigil na nga ako sa kaka-score," said boxing columnist Ed Picson

“De la Hoya just quit, he was overpowered, bothered, bewildered, bewitched,” said Ronnie Nathanielsz, boxing analyst and abs-cbnNEWS.com contributor.

One of the keys to victory seen by the analysts was Manny's speed and footwork that made him avoid de la Hoya's left which is known to be his best weapon

“He stuck to the game plan of Freddie Roach - 'keep the fight in the center of the ring',” said Nathanielsz.

“Iyong energy ni Manny Pacquiao i-compare mo sa lack of energy ni Oscar de la Hoya… Pagpasok ni Manny Pacquiao, nakangiti, hanggang tenga ang ngiti, pakaway-kaway, hanggang tenga nakangiti, patalbog-talbog. Pagpasok ni Oscar de la Hoya parang libing eh… Doon pa lang iba na kaagad iyong aura,” said Picson

Analysts also felt it was possible that age indeed was a factor along with having to drastically go down in weight, and an old left shoulder injury

“Iyong pangagatawan ni de la Hoya, iyong kilos niya, pati iyong mukha niya eh, iyong expression ng mukha niya. Hindi iyon iyong mukha ng isang taong may kumpyansa… Iyong Oscar de la Hoya na kakilala natin, hindi nagpakita,” said Picson.

“Tungkol sa kaliwang balikat ni de la Hoya, he has been having a problem with that for some time. They didn't want to admit it, but I know its true,” said Nathanielsz.

Nathanielsz added that he felt de la Hoya's camp stopped the fight mainly to preserve the image of the “Golden Boy” as a boxing legend.

“The reason they stopped that fight was they didn’t want his legendary status tarnished by a knockout by a little guy from the Philippines,” said Nathanielsz.

Picson said he believes that with the legendary feat that Pacquiao accomplished by forcing de la Hoya into submission, he can even reach greater heights in his career with his now complete repertoire

“As far as Manny Pacquiao is concerned, sky is the limit,” said Nathanielsz.