Unless you have Showtime or are a boxing fan, you probably haven't noticed much buildup for the Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley fight this weekend. That probably has something to do with the fact that Shane Mosley is not Floyd Mayweather Jr. or a Mexican. Luckily, some dude has been playing around with a puppet of Pacquiao, a noted balladeer. (It's often the simplest solutions....)
Not to be unfair — there has been some press about the event, mostly in the obligatory "greatest fighter of a generation defends his title" vein. But the New York Times ran a nice story a couple days ago. In it, the National Fist said his quicksilver style was modeled after Bruce Lee, about whom many ballads have been sung:
The boxing genius of Manny Pacquiao includes feet that belong in "Riverdance," calves the size of grapefruits and deceptive power generated from his core. His movement is unorthodox, scattered and perpetual, as if designed by a jazz musician. He creates angles unlike any other fighter, past or present, appearing, disappearing, shifting, striking; on balance, off balance, even off one foot.
It is this style - part performance art, part technical wizardry, unique to Pacquiao- that defines perhaps the best boxer of his generation. And it started with a videotape of the martial artist who became his idol. It started with Bruce Lee.
Pacquiao's Style Takes Inspiration From Bruce Lee [The New York Times]