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THE SILENT RAGE: PACQUIAO DROPPED HIS "BOMBSHELL" EVEN BEFORE 9/11 By Granville Ampong PhilBoxing.com Fri, 11 Sep 2009  LOS ANGELES, California - September 11, 2009 is about to unfold. And it's just about 12 o'clock midnight. But, no midnight cry is heard from any avenues, at least from where I write this article. Oh, yes, just about a few minutes ago I turned on my television set for the first time in the last six months. And there upon on Channel 59 flashed the scenes of the day of infamy of the United States of America that rather changed the landscape of the purported advancement and prestige of the security agencies of this greatest land of the earth. But forget all about the face of evil - referring to such eventful moments - that people saw on such cold-blooded slaughter of thousands, in broad daylight, right on our TV sets. Such evil had already transcended all cultures, all traditions, all epochs, and finally, for many, the objective nature of morality, when that day of infamy hit home as never before. To almost all of us, the interplay of such unkind force into this land of freedom and opportunity was unanticipated nor was it bound for its predictability. It was inexcusable. But, to the privileged intelligences of prophetic revelation, as evidenced from the writings of Ellen G. White, an American Prophetess, and from the unknown few as well, it was made known in their own "mental flashes of divine inspiration", so to speak, or vision and disposal of foresights, as alleged by the formidable scholars of prophecies, namely: Mark Finley, Samuelle Bacchioci and John Carter. I thought of all the tragedies that came out of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., there was one distinctive development, specifically in the sport of boxing. For many boxing aficionados and fans, it sounded the death knell in the ring of madness might continue to be felt all throughout its market segment: The traumatic pain from 9/11 had gone deep into the core of emptiness. But, not necessarily so. A vacuum-filling for pleasure must exist. And something came up but in an inversely similar, yet odd, entertaining and even intriguing phenomenon. One such intriguing event indeed took place, however less dramatic and did not consume life at all. In a less cosmic proportion, Manny Pacquiao dropped his own whirlwind "bombshell", about two months before the commanding blasts of 9/11 stroke the hearts of men and women and children. Paradoxically, as for him, his own "bombshell" became the "gospel" to the disillusioned, discouraged and disenchanted hearts of the Philippines. In fact, Pacquiao's victories became good news to the downtrodden and to the oppressed. Only after two weeks of notice, the sweeping charisma and boxing skills of Manny Pacquiao, bearing 121 lbs at 5'5" probably at such time, hit home in this foreign land called "America", yes, in the land of milk and honey terrorizing the super-bantamweight division and thereafter all the way up to the welterweight. It was essentially obvious that the trail he created manifested the rising culture of Pacmania and the revival of the boxing world, specifically in the lower division, not to undercut his victories over David Diaz, Marco Antonio Barrera, Eric Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton and etc.. Pacquiao enthralled the boxing enthusiasts and shocked both the skeptics and the agnostics. Ironically, the first victim was not an American, not even from Latin America. It was Lehlohonolo Ledwaba of South Africa, of which Manny Pacquiao was brought in as replacement of Enrique Sanchez, to fight against the IBF Super-bantamweight titlist at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. From the opening round and onward, Pacquiao fought his way up on a full scale attack in an electrifying, non-stop fashion, dropping Ledwaba in round 2 from a short left to the right upper quadrant of the body, railroading his opponent - in fact - from round 1 through 6 with feisty moments and dropping him again by a straight left to the chin with 2:27 left in round 6. But, still, Ledwaba, "the master boxer", chose to continue the fight which brought him on again to take a finishing right hook from Pacquiao which slid on his chin only to explode to his right chest, dropping him again to the canvas with 2:05 left in round 6, and thus the stoppage by TKO. It was an event before the 9/11 that signaled the tectonic shift in boxing, a schizophrenic haste that brought increasing attractions in the little men's division as Pacquiao seized the limelight as the new IBF Super Bantamweight Champion. And the same limelight that Pacquiao beheld himself in glory landed on the pages of the newsprints and more so spelled out through the lips of self-glorified prophets of boxing, tuning up with praise-building phrases "swarming like bees around a cider mill" - and thus birth of the world of Pacmania. Sidebar Response: Pacmanian World of Moral Depravity in Question Affecting this Writer At which time of 2001, I was still working for Asian Journal Publications as an Advertising Executive here in Los Angeles, in fact since 1994, and at the same time writing press releases for clients, ghostwriting for a few lawyers and two medical doctors for their respective columns in different publications. But, my passion for writing compelled me to write about boxing as prompted by the inspiration of Pacquiao's first debut in the U.S. against Ledwaba. Thus, I had my first article about Pacquiao published in June of 2001 in the Asian Journal and Tribune-U.S.A. (Thanks to Manny Pacquiao's awesome entry to the U.S. which brought many in real time viewing of boxing.) But, thereafter, I wrote articles about Pacquiao as a distant observer. Even as of this writing, I still write far from the reach of Pacquiao's circle of friends as I am pragmatically an outsider. Contrary to the prevailing inconceivable thoughts, boxing fans and aficionados thought that I have direct access to Pacquiao and his circle here in Los Angeles, to which, of course, I offer no consolation nor redemption for my own sake, and I must say: I have not. Consider this: One must not dare to tag me as a numskull, corrupt associate, contrary to two e-mails which I received yesterday. Here are the excerpts: 1. "You must be one of those who pocketed some of Pacman's unknown treasures." 2. "Are you one of those who gets cash out of Manny Pacquiao's bank accounts." As a matter of professionalism, I responded the senders of these two messages in a Christian way. But, the accusers never responded my e-mails. I was hoping to read more of their advances. Son, I must let the public know this : Despite the roughness of my impoverished hands, they are not in the state of depravity. I only earn my dollars by pen and by paper of hardwork. I nevertheless must say it clear: I have not stolen nor received a single cent from Manny Pacquiao, even as a result of my writing about him. I am practically a stranger to him, even though I am a 100% Cebuano-speaking Pinoy and a descent of Mindanao, in fact. I had spoken to Pacquiao on a personal level only thrice: first, when he first arrived in the Los Angeles in 2001 along with friends in the media, if I am not mistaken, at the original Point-Point Restaurant on Wilshire; second, when my wife's family gave a welcome party to Pacquiao, along with his wife and kids, in 2004 at 308 South Westmoreland Avenue in Los Angeles; and third, when I spoke to him briefly and took photographs of him inside the Thai restaurant by Wild Card Gym during the height of his training for the" Battle of the East and West". Other than these three distinctive occasions, I am just a mere observer and a writer of my own right. Again, I am fairly unknown to Manny Pacquiao on a personal level. I know very well his banker, Vilma Rodriguez of Wells Fargo, who is my wife's first cousin-in-law. But, I never took advantage of such potential bridge. The only link I have with him is my own pen and paper, my personal computer sets and my thoughts of inspiration. Yes, I have nothing to say about Pacman's circle. I can only state facts for my own supposition and nothing else! Meanwhile, the world of Pacmania should remain untouched. And there should be nothing wrong with it. It's just the system of Pacman's grace allows its spell to exist. And it's just Pacquiao is such a gracious man and a forgiving one. But as to my case, conversely, I rather run the race and beat the heart of my own than wallow in the quagmire of moral depravity. To which, of course, I rest my case before 9/11 and thereafter. And mind you, it's just a "bombshell" of testing one's personal faith in the world of Pacmania. Top photo: Five-time world champion pound-for-pound king Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao(R),General Santos,Philippines and three-time world champion and the pride of Puerto Rico Miguel Cotto(L), Caguas, Puerto Rico kickoff their cross-country, five-city national media tour by posing at a public press conference at Yankee Stadium Thursday to promote their upcoming "FIREPOWER" World Welterweight championship fight. Pacquiao vs Cotto is promoted by Top Rank, in association with MGM Grand and Tecate, will take place, Saturday,November 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and will be available live on HBO Pay Per View. --- Photo Credit : Chris Farina - Top Rank. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Granville Ampong.  |
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