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Philippines, 20 Apr 2024 |
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Those ?Flips? By Epifanio M. Almeda PhilBoxing.com Sat, 19 Apr 2008  ?Flip? is what comes out from a foreigner?s mouth who finds it difficult, and without malice, in articulating ?Filipino?. But some bigot boxing fanatics derisively call Filipino fighters and fans ?flips? out of envy and frustration on the successes these ?flips? are registering in the boxing arena. While ?flip? is often used in the negative, Filipinos can redirect its usage towards the positive. Filipino fighters flip their foes It could not be denied. A Manny Pacquiao fight is worth paying to see either live or on PPV. Manny has mastered the art of flipping his ring foes that he seldom fails to deliver at least once to his fans? delight in a fight. Even the big named fighters he faced flipped to the canvas more than once. Counting the unfairly uncalled knockdown in the 6th round of their first fight, Marco Antonio Barrera flipped 3 times. Erik Morales flipped a total of 5 times, 2 in their 2nd fight and 3 in their 3rd. This number excludes in the 2nd fight what could have been knockdowns in the 2nd round when Eric timely held on to the ropes to keep himself from falling after absorbing a series of Pacquiao punches and in the 6th where the accidental bumping on referee Bayless after a Manny combination prevented Eric from falling down. Juan Manuel Marquez knows his total is 4 but claims he?ll KO Pacquiao whom he never flipped to the mat if he is given, now ?miraculously?, a 3rd fight. Like Eric, JMM held on to the ropes in what could have been a 2nd knock down in the 3rd round of their last fight. The rule is when any part of a fighter?s body other than the soles of his feet touches the canvas as a result of a legitimate punch, it is a knockdown. Likewise, when the ropes keep a fighter who is hit with a legitimate punch from going down, it is a knockdown. Nonito ?The Filipino Flash? Donaire flipped the once fearsome Vic Darchinyan with one potent left hook to the jaw and Vic was rendered unfeeling to the sting of it. Vic was unaware where he was and was oblivious that he was already TKOd in the 5th round. The Maldonado 8th round stoppage in his first defense affirmed in the fans? minds that ?The Filipino Flash? has what it takes to flip his foes. Gerry Pe?alosa, Donnie Nietes and Florante Condes also flipped their opponent to the canvas en route to winning world titles. I couldn?t think, if there is any, of another era in Philippine boxing where 5 Filipino fighters held world titles at the same time. Add to these the KOs being scored by AJ Banal, Boom Boom Bautista, Bernabe Concepcion and Michael Fare?as and it would show that it has become a habit of Filipino fighters to flip their foes in the ring. Those fantastic ?Flip? fans The degree of support Filipino fans give their boxing heroes now seems unsurpassed by any other set of fans. For their loyalty these ?flip? fans have gained admiration for themselves among foreign fighters and fans as well. Against their idol Pacman in the ring, Eric, MAB & JMM are ?enemies? of the Filipino boxing fans. They crave for ?blood?, so to speak, for Manny to KO or beat the ?foes? decisively. But their regard for Eric as a ?foe? flipped that he has been and still is being accorded friendly respect and extended the renowned Filipino hospitality every time he visits the Philippines. His appearance in an ad for an equally world class quality beverage with Manny was a hit. MAB is likewise no longer the enemy and he could expect no hostile crowd to pester him when he sets foot on Philippine soil. JMM was mobbed like a star at the Araneta coliseum last March 15 that he could hardly take his seat as ?Flips? lined up to ask him to pose with them, one or two at a time, for pictures. The Filipino fans? acceptation of Eric and MAB as gentlemen worthy of respect did not wane unlike in JMM?s case. Eric and MAB know how to accept defeat. By opening his mouth more than he should have as a guest, the Filipinos? admiration of JMM flipped to irritation. JMM has to learn from Oscar Larios. Daniel Ponce de Leon might have heard of how Oscar and Eric were treated in a ?hostile? land that he now agrees to fight Gerry Pe?alosa even in Manila. In the area of loyalty and support for the ?Flip? fighters, the ?Flip? fans are simply fantastic. In response to some bigots? posted comments labelling Filipinos as ?flips? in a boxing article, an annoyed poster clearly stated that he was a ?Filipino and not a flip?. He declared that he is successful in life living in his own house in Britain and has cars in his garage. He challenged the bigots to post how they are living life wherever they are. I haven?t read of the bigots? counter-response, if any, to this declaration of success. They must have found it hard to believe a ?flip? is successful and lives more comfortably than they do. As the Filipino fighters flip and flatten their foes in the ring, and as the loyal and supportive Filipino fans remain fantastic towards Filipino fighters and ring ?foes? alike, the bigots might just be flipped in their mindset from being negative to positive in their regard for Filipinos even if they still continue to refer to them as ?those ?Flips??. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Epifanio M. Almeda.  |
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