MANNY Pacquiao?s victory over Sugar Shane Mosley simply highlighted how remarkable a character and how worthy of emulation the Filipino boxing icon is.
His dominance over Mosley seems anti-climactic, compared to his preparations for and his pronouncements before the fight. As in his previous fights, Pacquiao logs the extra kilometer or two in his roadword and goes another round or two in the mitts, in the punching bag and even in sparring. Pacquiao shows Filipinos that, in whatever battle in life which one faces, preparation is everything.
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Preparation spells the difference between the glory of victory and the ignominy of defeat. If you cut a hundred meters in your roadwork or if you go easy in the punching bag, you will feel the difference when you are already fighting your battle in the middle of life?s ring.
Pacquiao?s diligence in training tells us that, if we cut corners in our preparation, we are cheating only ourselves because it is us who will ultimately be affected by its lack.
Corollary to that, his attitude teaches self-honesty. We have to be honest with ourselves, particularly in evaluating our strengths and weaknesses. Fooling other people is bad enough but fooling ourselves is much worse.
All people who are considered success stories in life exhibit this trait of self-honesty – knowing what aspect of their lives they should capitalize on and which side they should strengthen.
Color me yellow. For most boxers eyeing a billion peso paycheck, win or lose, after a fight, the only color they would be interested in is only the color of money. Not Pacquiao.
The mere presence of Pacman in the boxing ring already trumpets the Philippine colors. Seeing Pacman, people around the world already know that he is fighting for the pride and glory of his country and his countrymen.
Not content with that, Pacquiao announced that he will wear yellow boxing gloves to underscore the need for unity in our country. ?All my life has been a fight. As a child, I had to fight to eat. Now I am a bayani… but my biggest fight in my life is how to end poverty in my country. So wear yellow, the color of unity. Unity is the best weapon for the people,? thus said the fighting solon before the fight. Knowing that the eyes and ears of the world are on him, Pacquiao dramatized the need to fight poverty and called for unity in waging the battle against dehumanizing poverty. Recognizing his global celebrity status, he utilized it to pitch for the welfare of the down-trodden. Long after all the jewels in Pacquaio?s numerous title belts have faded, his call on the global stage for unity against poverty will still be remembered.
