OK, OK, here?s a glass to Jerwin Ancajas. From literally nowhere, Ancajas made himself the country?s latest world boxing champion. He had just dethroned Jorge Arroyo of Mexico to grab a piece of the world junior flyweight crown.
If reports are to be believed, Ancajas won only a little over P120,000 for his stunning global grab.
That?s probably just as much as a water boy earns working up the corner of Manny Pacquiao?s every fight.
That?s what billionaire Mike Romero might easily spend in just a 10-minute partying with friends, should his Globalport quintet succeeded in upsetting TNT KaTropa even if it?s a no-bearing game.
And, yes, that?s not even a fraction of what Hidilyn Diaz silver medal?s worth: Almost P10 million as of last computation, to include generous pass-the-hat contributions by way of recognizing her Olympic feat.
Do they come cheap these days, world boxing titles that feature not the likes of Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr?
Does boxing sorely, truly, lack star appeal, now that the established superstars of the sport are slowly fading out of the scene?
Ancajas? purse sucks, to say the least.
Oh, well, it can be said that Ancajas was just the challenger and, as in many other similar cases in the dirty world of pugilism, champs always get preferential treatment.
Only when one has reached Pacquiao?s stature that a boxer?s fate changes?as when Pacquiao did earn bigger purses than his foes when the Filipino ring icon was a mere challenger in several of his famous bouts.
In boxing indeed, stature, not rank, dictates the purse.
And so, Ancajas had a pittance for a fee but, hey, omigosh, he said money to him came in second ?and it is the crown that is first and foremost.?
His is of the vanishing breed.
Perhaps touched by this rare show of humility, Pacquiao stepped forward and gave Ancajas another half a million bucks.
That is, of course, peanuts to Pacquiao, whose fists of fortune have unbelievably made him the richest Filipino athlete of all time.
But the gesture was on target: Boxers who toil beyond the limits of human endurance if only to give honor to their country deserve more than the adulation of a nation hungry for heroes.
Here?s to you, Manny. You continue to inspire.
