Maasin City (15 November) — Now it can be told. The boxer in Manny Pacquiao can certainly handle simultaneous assignments while at the same time training hard for an impending fight.
For sure, he is not just Pacquiao, the newly-crowned eight title holder in as many divisions, but he is also Rep. Pacquiao, Pacquiao the commercial endorser, a celebrity in his own right, a singer, a basketball player and coach, and a host of many other things.
His being a politician concerned coach Freddie Roach so much because it was distracting his focus while training in the Philippines for the Margarito bout, so Roach felt relieved the training was transferred sooner to the US — only to be met with more of the same woes.
In the US, the Pacman deliberately skipped training at least twice, once when he watched a basketball game that he himself coached, and second when he endorsed a former American boxer to boost his political career, and won, eventually because of that endorsement.
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Despite all these worries, the Filipino pugilist remained a heavily-favored pugilist, the bet so lopsided it went so low as one is to five, meaning a P 20.00 bet for Margarito can win P 100.00, while a P 100.00 bet for Pacquiao can win only P 20.00.
Worse, the betting turned a weird twist when the issue was no longer who will win: Pacquiao will win but until what round, or whether there will be a knockout or even a knockdown in what round.
Coach Freddie Roach even joined the fray, from saying an 11th round stoppage to saying “don’t blink” for victory will be short and sweet in the first round, a statement which to me was deliberately taken more as a psy-war tactic than a marching order for his ward, who kept saying, ever so humbly everytime he will be asked to predict the outcome, that the event was scheduled for 12 rounds.
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And Filipino boxing fans, who are spoiled to see the Pacman demolish his foe in a stylish knockout punch following a whirlwind of speed and solid combinations, were somehow “bitin” at the no-floored fight, even as all indications pointed to that direction in the tenth round if not for the “save by the bell” help.
Still, the Pacquiao-Margarito clash can go down in history as one of the classic fights ever, one of the best performance for the Pinoy southpaw, who himself admitted it was the hardest fight he had in his boxing career.
For In this super welterweight crown, Pacman yet again showed the world that the heart of a champion is not necessarily filled with a killer instinct: the soul of a great boxer should be filled with mercy, as he himself tried to implore the referee by looking at him in the tenth and eleventh round to stop Margarito’s agony, whose face was swollen from the beatings he absorbed.
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Filipinos around the world must celebrate, for no other fighter, if I am not mistaken, has achieved what Pacman has reached: pile 8 championship belts in many divisions.
With this extraordinary feat, another task can be given to Pacquiao which he readily can deliver, as in being a redeemer of Filipino pride. Yes, the Pinoy, however lowly, can stand tall against any race.
I will not be surprised if, in the next elections, there will be suggestions that the Pacman should run in the Senate.
Pacquiao, the multi-tasker, can certainly take on the shoes of a Senator.
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LOCAL FRONT: I was not able to watch live the Pacquiao-Margarito match because my daughter had a retreat in Macrohon which needed my participation. But I carried a transistor radio as me and my wife motored all along to monitor the developments. Then lo and behold, the highway from Maasin to Macrohon on Sunday noon, November 14, 2010, was deserted as all eyes were glued to their TV sets. Some parents did came in late because there were no available transport to ride. Anyway, I watched the replay with much jest and gusto, and the rest is history.
ODDLY YOURS: A desperate attempt by the Margarito camp tried to put on a cloud of doubt the results of the fight shortly before it started. His coach, Garcia, entered the dugout to demand that Pacquiao re-tape his fist, a queer claim since he has a man inside when the taping was in progress, and it was already approved by the Texas commission. Reports are conflicting on this: some said the Pacman obligingly smiled for a re-tape, others said Roach vehemently protested, even the representative of the Texas Commission did not give in. (And to think who was banned for putting a hardening substance on his wraps?) Whatever, Roach countered an illegal drug claim, and it was unclear now, with Pacquaio’s sterling performance, whether Roach would make good his allegation. This was the inside drama that almost affected the match, but this was all water under the bridge. (PIA-Southern Leyte) [top]
