EVEN IF HE HAD LOST, BOXING ICON MANNY PACQUIAO still would have done the country proud. He had learned his lessons from the first fight with Mexican superstar Erik Morales 10 months ago and, as teachers say approvingly of exemplary students, applied himself. Yesterday’s rematch showed a disciplined athlete doing what had to be done: Pacquiao used his right hand more often, gunned for the body, put up his hands in defense throughout, remembered his footwork. As a result, he fought a much better fight than the last time.
Another thing: He had also learned to be patient. He did not put all his hopes on a knockout win; instead, he followed the game plan as much as he could, willing to win the match on points, but ready to go for the quick end if the chance offered itself.
Even if he had lost, Pacquiao would have honored his many fans, simply by fighting the good fight. But he went on to avenge last year’s loss, and in memorable fashion.
We salute Pacquiao on his decisive win; it is a victory made even more emphatic by the fact that he is the first boxer to knock out Morales, a three-time world champion. Now his triumph will be appropriated by everyone with a point to make or a product to sell; everyone will find in this bounce-back-from-defeat classic a metaphor to suit any need.
The question is: Will we in fact learn the right lessons?
Much will be made of Pacquiao’s fighting spirit, especially because he was also on the receiving end of some staggering blows from Morales, a peerless counter-puncher. But this second fight proves that, to stay at the top, heart is not enough. One needs the yoke of discipline. One needs to submit to the sometimes harsh requisites of training, the repetitive instructions of the coach, the unforgiving timetables of conditioning.
Pacquiao started training in Los Angeles in mid-December; he spent his birthday and the Christmas holidays in training camp. That kind of dedication helps explain why he did not lose wind even in the last rounds of the fight.
Much will also be made of Pacquiao’s power punches, and the fact that this time around he wore the thinner Cleto Reyes gloves. But this second fight proved that, to beat the best in the world, it is not enough to rely on one’s instincts or natural gifts, or to depend on the improvisational ability the Filipino is famous for. One needs to craft a plan, and then to stick to that plan.
Morales won the first bout in part because Pacquiao depended too much on his powerful left hand; once Morales figured that out, he was able to dictate the pace of the fight. But in yesterday’s fight, Pacquiao finally learned to trust his right (which his coach last year rather prematurely called “Manila Ice”). In the clutch, especially in the early rounds and at the start of the seventh, he could have reverted to his natural stance and become “left-hand happy” all over again (another memorable phrase from his coach). But he stuck to the plan, and in the end wore Morales down.
Much will also be made of Pacquiao’s role as a national symbol, of his gift for concentrating national pride in his person. And in fact the public seemed as one yesterday, with millions of Filipinos watching the fight or listening to it. But the second fight also proved that not even an epic bout can erase the divisions that disfigure the nation. For some reason, some Filipinos thought it was funny to circulate false messages about the outcome of the fight, even before it had started. And in movie houses and function rooms that broadcast the fight live, audiences tittered when they suddenly saw Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson appear in the ring, and groaned when they saw First Gentleman Mike Arroyo loom beside Pacquiao.
Boxing is both an impossibly demanding sport and a sportswriter’s “sweet science.” It is not, however, a substitute for politics; it is not a means of political dispute resolution. If anything, a fight like yesterday’s was only a respite from politics. So a word to the wise: Beware of politicians or political wannabes who seek to make political capital out of (or draw the wrong lessons from) Pacquiao’s stirring victory. They only cheapen it.
