Manny?s victory underwhelmed. How many lost their shirts betting on an abbreviated ending? We had been led to expect that he would simply pulverize and atomize Larios to pulp bits.
Larry Sipin, who used to be with us here, is gone. Goodbye Larry, one of my favorite clients during the dark days.
A columnist in another daily wrote Monday that a week ago British Ambassador Peter Beckingham honored Totoy Ampon and said he was a 4-foot-l1 guy who won the Davis Cup singles championship in 1937 and the Pan American title in 1950.
Totoy was actually 5-3 or even 5-4. I think one below five feet in tennis can only get blown out of the court. At 16 or 17, Totoy could not have “won the Davis Cup singles championship in 1937.” There is no such event. Teams, not individuals, win the Cup named after a former American Governor General here. The Pan American singles title Totoy won in 1949, not 1950.
Ignoramuses in the Palace do not understand either that in boxing you are as good only as your last fight. Manny Pacquiao?s last was not that good even. “Champion for Life?” If he knocks out his next foe, he might be named by the Palace “Champion for Eternity,” an even heavier and crazier burden.
Manny has won again. But, there was restraint in the jubilation as his camp had bragged about an early ending. The uninformed later spoke about a “technical decision” that did not come to pass because, to begin with, there is no such animal either. It is a technical knockout, dummy. There is a sense that all decisions are after all technical, but on Sunday there was no knockout of any kind or variety.
On reports of high officials barging in, how I would wish Manny and Chololo joined hands in knocking out these boors.
Manny?s victory underwhelmed. How many lost their shirts betting on an abbreviated ending? We had been led to expect that he would simply pulverize and atomize Larios to pulp bits.
Instead, upstanding in the end, with some piropo y cortesia left, the charmer came away like a never-say-die Macho?not Chololo nor Lolo Larios. Never mind if three others from an unfortunate country, moaning that it is so near the United States and so far from God, also lost to the Pinoy blitzkrieg.
Good no politician insinuated himself into the picture this time. Luckier in Las Vegas, they knew better than to tempt the fates here. If they had planted themselves within abrazo length from Manny in the ring, there might have been an EDSA 3 1-2.
The win was so underwhelming it is Manny who finds himself rejecting suggestions of a rematch, noises that would not have been there had Manny made dala Macho.
Gov. Manny Pi?ol had brashly predicted that Manny would destroy Chololo by blasting him on his right or left cheek or right or left jaw, whatever. However, all of Manny?s power punches Macho took gamely.
I am not certain how many attended the fight. Only 12,000 fans out of almost 90 million people? Again, that underwhelms, less than half of capacity. People have no money. It seems ducats had to be given away to attract the fans who got in. Blame also the blessing of TV, even if the delayed telecast saw me sleeping through the final two rounds as the telecast just went on and on.
Thirty-one years ago, Imelda would look away when the going got rough in the Thrilla in Manila. I did not sleep then.
Anyway, on Sunday, we saw Manny unite the nation. Best all of all, GMA, not doing an Imelda, prudently stayed away. Bravo. President for Life, anyone?
