There’s no denying that when you think of the Philippines and the sport of boxing, you think of Manny Pacquiao, whose iconic image adorns postage stamps in his country. Since his ascension into world-wide superstardom, the Filipinos have begun to put out a steady stream of world-class boxers in recent years. No, it’s not quite the collection of say, Imelda Marcos’ shoes, but the nation is now a steady producer of young talent.
It’s not as if ‘the Pac Man’ was the country?s first standout pugilist, as Pancho Villa, Flash Elorde and, most recently, Gerry Penalosa, all had long, distinguished careers. But it’s Pacquiao who has caused a boxing boom. ?The Philippines always had an affinity for boxing, but now it’s become absolutely their major sport because of Manny,” said Bob Arum, who promotes Pacquiao and recently inked Nonito Donaire to a promotional pact over the summer. And because of that, young fighters like IBF flyweight titlist Donaire – who defends his title this Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas against South African Moruti Mthalane – have a golden opportunity to capitalize in the fertile market that exists in the Philippines.
?All boats rise when you have something like that happen. And Donaire is probably the second most popular Filipino fighter and he also has the advantage of being raised in the United States. And he has a good following here, so he’s helped tremendously,” stated Arum.
In a recent conference call with reporters last week, Donaire, who like Pacquiao was born in General Santos City, was asked to describe Pacquiao’s impact on the country and the boxing business.
?He?s the key. He was the key to opening the door. He’s done everything for all Filipino fighters. We can always thank him for everything. I mean, just endless thanks, because he’s done a lot for the Filipino community and for the Filipino fighters, me as well. So we just bow our head. We’re just thankful for him being there,” he would answer.
And since upsetting Vic Darchinyan last year in stunning fashion to capture his title, he has carved his own niche in the marketplace. From an obscure fighter who lived in the States, he became another symbol of Filipino pride. No longer is he anonymous in his homeland. “Oh, it changed a lot,” he would say of his profile. “Everybody’s noticing me. Especially when I’m in the Philippines, they gather around me. And my wife gets pushed aside all the time. But it’s tremendous and that’s one thing that keeps me going as well because these guys are looking at me and a lot of them are looking at me in a way that helps them, that encourages them in their daily life. And I want to be able to give out more as well to that. That’s why I fight as hard as I can, too.”
Donaire’s bout, which is a part of a pay-per-view show in the United States, is being aired back to the Philippines through Solar Sports (where it is being shown free on the GMA network.)
“They have an output deal with us, but they pay extra for a Donaire fight, and they do all of Manny’s fights,” explained Arum. And when Pacquiao performs, the country literally comes to a standstill. “The whole country watches. Everything stops, even the criminals are off the streets, there’s no crime. The guerrillas have a truce.”
Donaire certainly isn’t at that level yet, but he certainly has the inside track on creating his own brand.
“I think he is a star; he’s a tremendous fighter, first of all,” said his manager, Cameron Dunkin, who got Donaire off the scrap heap and guided him to a world title. “He’s a great attraction, Filipino, of course, great personality, great looking kid. He’s just got the whole package. I think he’s got a chance to be really special.”
What helps his cause is that while Pacquiao had the likes of Barrera, Morales and Marquez as worthy foils, Donaire has names like Jorge Arce, Fernando Montiel, Cristian Mijares and Darchinyan floating around his weight class. But those above-mentioned names all fight at 115-pounds.
“Listen, if he could be at ’15 for this fight, he would be there,” admitted his manager. “If he could be at ’18 for this fight he’d be there. He has to really work hard to get down to 112-pounds. So he’s ready to move up tomorrow; he’s 5-7, he’s huge for a flyweight. In fact, he’s big for a bantamweight. So he’s ready to move up, but he needed to defend his title for the show. So I look for him to move up to ’15 right away.”
Arum has mentioned that an early 2009 showdown with Arce is in the works. Arce, the colorful and hard-hitting Mexican, faces Chino Garcia on this same show. But first things first – before he can look forward to any fight or take over any mantle, Donaire needs to win this weekend. And there’s the issue of ring rust, as his last outing took place all the way back in December, as he stopped Luis Maldonado. Since then he has been bogged down in promotional disputes that hindered his progress.
Right now, activity is every bit as important as exposure. “They promised that and they’re promising four fights a year and really, really good money and a lot of good things for him,” says Dunkin of their deal with Top Rank. “So the main thing is to get him active, but I think now people are going to be seeing him, and what Bob and Todd (duBoef) can do with the Philippines and what they’ve done with Manny, that’s going to be huge. Before, he was just an American fighter fighting on Showtime – and there’s nothing wrong with that. He appreciated the opportunity, but now he’s in a whole different market. I think he’s going to be a star.”
The shadow of Pacquiao looms large. And as Rey Bautista and AJ Banal found out, the pressure can be daunting, and bandwagons can empty out quickly in the wake of a devastating loss. When a Filipino fights, he’s not just fighting for himself, but millions of his countrymen across the world.
But Donaire says that while he embraces the opportunities given to him because of Pacquiao’s success, he’s also looking to carve out his own legacy.
“I’m putting on my own path, but one thing is that I’m thankful for is the fact that Manny’s in front of me and he’s giving me all these examples. And he’s giving me this determination to fight hard, stay hard, and that sums it up. That’s just how it is for me.”
DECEMBER 13
Word on the street is that the James Toney-Tony Thompson bout will take place on the ‘Versus’ network on December 13th at the Morongo Casino and Resort in Southern California. This could be a pretty good fight between two heavyweights desperate for a victory to stay relevant.
Meanwhile, with Alexander Povetkin pulling out of his bout with Wladimir Klitschko, the search is on for a replacement. From what I’m told, the show will go on with or without HBO, which was to have televised Klitschko-Povetkin. The names being thrown around prominently are Hasim Rahman and Oleg Maskaev.
It’s amazing that Rahman can trap door his way out his last fight against Toney and still be considered for a shot at Klitschko. As for Maskaev, didn’t he just get knocked out by Samuel Peter?
Here’s the thing, Klitschko should be free to fight whoever he wants to stay busy (something I’m a big advocate of), but HBO should also exhibit some discretion in who they approve (something that they?re not very good at, unfortunately.)
MID-WEEK FLURRIES
It was made official on Tuesday that US Olympian Shawn Estrada inked a promotional deal with Goossen-Tutor…. I understand that in preparation for his November 29th assignment against Travis Walker, Chris Arreola will train in Big Bear. But they have beer in Big Bear, too, right?….OK, will Phil Jackson do the right thing and give Trevor Ariza most of the minutes that somehow go to Vlad Radmonovic?….Jr. middleweight prospect Vanes Martirosyan is also on that card this Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay, along with Lamont Peterson….Can the World Series end already so we can get back ‘Kitchen Nightmares’?…..I hear ticket sales for both Arum’s show and Mijares-Darchinyan at the Home Depot Center are abysmal. Will there be any walk-up sales for these two events?…Yeah, we got smog, traffic, costly real estate but these 85-degree days in late October is what keeps us here in SoCal….
