MANNY Pacquiao’s scheduled fight against a colored opponent from out of nowhere comes in with sirens wailing, colored warning lights flashing.
The fight, both desperate and frantic, is an emergency.
It’s being delivered on board a screaming ambulance.
Given enough time to find a worthier foe, Pacquiao should rightfully fight an opponent with credentials suiting the stature of the Filipino world boxing celebrity.
Pacquiao, highly respected all over the world, had reason to feel insulted.
But, time is running out.
Shamed out of the stellar rich bouts in the USA, no thanks to his glib US promoter, Murad Muhammad, Pacquiao needs one tune-up match before the year ends.
Otherwise, he would be rendered rusty, loose and soft for his scheduled big outings next year, topped by the return match against double world champion Juan Manuel Marquez.
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So it will be Gail St. Gary.
You can bet Pacquiao himself had never before heard of this boxer, described as a tough one from Guyana.
St. Gary is being peddled as a survivor who holds the unenviable record of having lost (merely) on points against name boxers, like Diego Corrales and Leonard Dorin.
This simply means Pacquiao has nothing to gain from his scheduled fight, except hopefully a good, full-blown workout.
In fact, Freddie Roach took a sharp dig at promoter Murad when the famous American trainer wondered why a hot, top-rated boxer like Pacquiao could not get a good fight.
Well, the best that Pacquiao could aim for against the survivor from Guyana is to stop him cold.
For lack of someone better to showcase his great talent, Pacquiao and his home fans should be happy enough with the sinking of an unsinkable foe.
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If there’s anybody who should truly profit from the St. Gary fight, it’s not Pacquiao but promoter Murad.
Murad may yet save his contract with Pacquiao, due to expire in February, if the emergency fight pushes through.
Then there is the local group that’s assembling the fight here.
A full-blast publicity offensive last week announced blithely the bout was a “done deal.”
Named as venue was the Global City in Taguig.
Taguig Mayor Freddie Tinga was supposed to have vowed his full support for the promotion.
Anyway, publicists have vowed to name the big people behind the fight this week.
Why they had refused to be identified at the time of the fight announcement simply makes the event both suspenseful and mysterious.
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But listen now. The bigger question now is how to sanely finance the gigantic card.
With his iconic worth, Pacquiao, the press release announced, has been assured of a $500,000 purse.
That whopping sum, translated into pesos, would itself need an emergency in order to raise.
Then, counting other necessary expenses, it would not be silly to estimate total expenditures at over P70 million.
A plain accounting of possible revenues would show that promoters would need to call in someone with the godly touch of King Midas to help assemble the Pacquiao fight in Manila.
The main area of revenue, of course, is television.
But great as Pacquiao is, it’s hard to imagine how to raise his purse alone from television advertising revenues.
Considering the hard times and the late timing, promoters would be extremely lucky to assemble commercials totaling P20 million.
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So whom are they turning to for funding of the very expensive boxing show?
He may not have heard of St. Gary himself but, sad to say, it was the name of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo that was freely floated when the question of funding was raised.
Credit this to Mr. Arroyo’s tested generosity, mainly when it comes to sporting matters.
Well, Murad Muhammad and his local counterparts may have other moneyed backers behind them.
But if ever Malaca?ang steps in to help, it could also be out of necessity.
In these hard times, an extravaganza, a circus in the magnitude of a Pacquiao fight close to Christmas, should help momentarily take the minds of the countless poor and hungry from their mounting miseries.
Like it or not, the Pacquiao fight should count as a Palace shot at the empty Pinoy breadbasket.
