MANILA, Philippines — Now that it’s finally over, Manny Pacquiao’s fight at the polls is bound to go down as the most brutal, most expensive in his great career.
The sheer savagery surpassed the worst he had suffered in earlier defeats.
Pacquiao, as could only be expected, had refused to take a step back at the height of battle.
But it did not help any that, given his big fighting heart, the loser also squandered hard-earned pogi points when he refused to concede and acknowledge defeat long after the (people’s) verdict had been rendered.
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The Pacman was said to have wasted over P100 million in his bitter bid to topple the incumbent Darlene Antonino-Custodio from Congress.
But, more than finances, it was in the sensitive area of public trust and respect wherein Pacquiao had been severely battered.
Yes, the boxing super hero nearly went bankrupt after he indefinitely refused to acknowledge defeat at the hands of a small, gentle foe.
Every second he had spent on the floor protesting, as Custodio continued to pad her lead in the official tally, would cut a deeper wound in Pacquiao’s proud psyche.
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The angelic winner definitely didn’t look like she packed a devil’s punch that could stop the most popular living Filipino hero.
You can now call that winning shot the sweetest, wildest. Call it whatever you may.
But please don’t buy the cheap tout which says Pacquiao’s resounding defeat in the recent congressional polls has effectively softened Pacquiao, thereby rendering him ripe for a loss inside the boxing ring.
In the first place, do you expect Mike Buffer to also welcome Pacquiao into the arena in his next fight as “the losing congressional candidate from the Philippines?”
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OK, Pacquiao had allowed himself to be sucked blind into the dirty world of Philippine politics.
He had, in fact, lent losing (in the polls) a new, silly face.
He had, repeat, allowed himself to be a mascot of Malaca?ang madness.
But you definitely don’t know your super hero if you entertained the idea Pacquiao would be bringing his record defeat at the polls inside the boxing ring.
Pacquiao is doubly tough inside there.
This is what separates him from other ordinary fighters.
He’s a supreme stoic when it comes to business inside the cruel boxing ring.
Anyway, if the defeat against Custodio would have any impact, it should be in goading Pacquiao to be a better ring warrior.
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The lessons learned in his sorry loss in the last election may not contribute physically in his next big bout.
But it goes without saying that, unlike against Custodio, Pacquiao would next study all angles and possibilities in that next ring outing.
Pacquiao need not be told that, in his last defeat, Custodio ended up lending him some solid pointers on athleticism.
She, for example, did not waste time to assure Pacquiao that he should not feel bad because the poll defeat was not a message that people no longer loved him.
In fact, Ms. Custodio had humbly assured Pacquiao she had not actually knocked him out, contrary to popular feel.
Well, it’s too early to say, but it appears Pacquiao has also succeeded in introducing a strong candidate for senator in the person of the wispy charmer who took the fight out of a famous knockout artist.
That, needless to say, should go down as the biggest point Pacquiao had scored in the biggest loss of his career.
