THE late Smokin? Joe Cantada, undoubtedly one of the best sportscasters and boxing analysts in the history of Philippine broadcasting, once warned me not to score fights while doing the ringside commentary.
As an understudy of the Great Joe Cantada in the coverage of boxing events at the Elorde Gym many, many years ago, I tried hard to remember that.
There were times though when in my arrogance, I violated that rule and in many instances I ended up with my feet stuffed in my mouth when the judges? decision did not come out the way I told my viewers it would.
This was exactly what happened in the Top Rank coverage of the third fight between Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and Mexican great counterpuncher Juan Manuel Marquez which was handled by veteran boxing commentator Col. Bob Sheridan and Mario Lopez.
Although I did not hear their commentaries personally because I watched the replay in the HBO version of the coverage, I was told that all throughout the fight Sheridan dominated the coverage by saying that Marquez was ahead on points, even prevailing on Lopez who initially thought that the fight was close.
What made things worse for the Filipino boxing icon was the fact that the clips of the fight in slo-mo showed actions where Marquez tagged Pacquiao.
This conditioned the minds of the viewers into believing that indeed Marquez was dominating the fight and that the decision of the judges and the statistics of the Compubox were results of an elaborate cheating and robbery in favor of Pacquiao.
But what would have been the reaction of the viewers had Sheridan?s and Lopez?s commentaries went this way:
Col. Bob Sheridan: ?We are now into the 12th and final round of this epic battle between the Great Aggressor, Manny Pacquiao, and the Great Counterpuncher, Juan Manuel Marquez. It is amazing how Pacquiao has been able to press this fight from the very start and how he has been able to cope up with a fighter who is considered today as boxing?s best counter-puncher.?
Mario Lopez: ?Pacquiao is amazing indeed Bob but so is Marquez. At 38, it is almost incredible that he could last this long with the very powerful Manny Pacquiao and connect with those accurate counterpunches. Going to this round, however, Marquez seems to have lost steam and he is now allowing Pacquiao to control the tempo of the fight which the Pacman has been doing for the last three rounds.?
Col. Bob Sheridan: ?This has been a very close fight and very difficult to call. But whoever controls the last round could snatch the fight and it looks like Manny Pacquiao is controlling this round.?
If this was the exchange of commentaries between sportscasters Sheridan and Lopez who covered the fight for Top Rank, would there have been an uproar over Manny Pacquiao?s victory over Juan Manuel Marquez?
No. There would have been jubilation over the splendid performance of Pacquiao against a tough counterpuncher and he would be hailed again as the country?s sports hero who bucked a big cut over his right eye and a busted lower lip to eke out a majority decision over Marquez.
Sheridan?s comments, granting that they were devoid of any malicious intent, conditioned the minds of the viewers into believing that Marquez was winning, a view which was contrary to the statistics of Compubox which scored more punches for Pacquiao, and the scores of two of the three judges.
He violated the cardinal rule in boxing coverages and scored the fight while he was annotating it thus earning for himself immeasurable embarrassment from which he tried to wiggle out by claiming that Marquez was robbed of victory.
The power of the media in shaping public opinion and people?s thoughts is immense and this is precisely why many leaders of the world, including those who led with evil intentions, had very strong propaganda machines which helped shape public opinion.
Hitler had Joseph Goebbels who said: ?A lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth.?
Pacquiao, in view of his immense popularity and his great achievements in boxing, has been the beneficiary of the media?s fondness. His life story is likened to that of Cinderella which must be told again and again to fascinate the readers, viewers and listeners.
But this is about to end. The career of Manny Pacquiao, the boxer, is coming to an end. It is inevitable.
Once he tastes defeat, Pac-quiao will come to understand the meaning of the saying: ?Victory has many Fathers; defeat is an orphan.?
The media will no longer gloss over his human frailties. As his boxing career spirals down to the bottom, the very same people who cheer and jump atop the ring with him like chimpanzees will be the same people who will unmask the human side of Manny Pacquiao, frailties, indiscretions and all.
There is a need for Manny Pacquiao?s closest of friends and advisers, those who were with him when his fights earned him only a few thousand pesos, to sit down and chart his destiny and life outside of boxing.
His victory in politics could be attributed to his popularity as a boxer. Any setback in his boxing career will certainly affect his political career.
There must be an effort now to repackage Manny Pacquiao from a champion boxer to an outstanding political leader.
This could only be done by engaging the services of a professional public relations group which would start a campaign to convey to the people, especially the electorate, that Manny Pacquiao is not just an outstanding boxer but a political leader who understands the meaning of poverty and the pain of hunger.
If this is not done soon enough, Pacquiao?s first devastating loss in boxing could also mark the beginning of his political decline.
Perhaps, Manny Pacquiao could ask Col. Bob Sheridan?s advice on how to use the medium to conditon the minds of the people.
