Borne on the wings of Manny Pacquiao?s marvelous victories, professional boxing has regained its supreme status in the field of sports entertainment.
Not since the heyday of Gabriel ?Flash? Elorde, who regularly filled the Araneta Coliseum in a seven-year (1960-67) reign as world junior lightweight champion, has the nation been immersed in the exploits of a Filipino pugilist.
?Standing 5-foot-6 and weighing 130 pounds, boxer Manny Pacquiao certainly warrants the junior-lightweight class designation. But his small frame is fashioned with strong shoulders. In fact, his shoulders have to be strong. He carries with him the hope of a nation,? mused ESPN contributing writer Peyton Woodson. ?The Filipino boxer is a superstar in his homeland of more than 80 million people. Fight fanatics crowd outside electronics stores to listen to his bouts and his homecomings are celebrations replete with parades and well-wishes from Philippines President Gloria Arroyo and other elected officials.?
To say that Pacquiao redefined pro boxing in the country is inaccurate. PacMan actually wrote a whole new book that is now being read by even the most casual Filipino boxing fan.
PacMan fever
Pacquiao?s fame has transcended the four corners of the ring. When he knocked out Erik Morales in January 2006, some 10 months after the Mexican defeated him on points, PacMan fever permeated every nook and corner of the country.
?Manny Pacquiao?s return to prominence was amplified by great timing,? observed well-known sports commentator Bill Velasco. ?His comeback was helped by an economic collapse, disappointment with authority figures, the public?s need for a hero, and the absence of great fighters in the higher weight classes. This leaves him alone as today?s most exciting fighter.?
?Manny is so phenomenal that whatever he does, everybody wants to follow,? added Snow Badua, the host of the popular program Teledyaryo Sports. ?He is God disguised as the PacMan.?
Pacquiao first burst into the consciousness of sports fans in November 2003, when he landed the upset ax on Mexican fistic icon Marco Antonio Barrera. Pacquiao had actually been a champion as early as 1998, but it was his conquest of the hitherto invincible Barrera that earned him international media mileage.
In the last four years since that fight, pro boxing in the country has undergone a major renewal. That Pacquiao dabbled in just about everything?endorsing a variety of products, appearing in countless talk shows on television, gracing the covers of even nonboxing related magazines, starring in movies and even attempting to win a congressional seat?helped promote the gloved sport.
Surge of new promoters
Boxing promotions, which attracted only mosquitoes in the three decades before Pacquiao became a star, have bounced back with a vengeance. In July 2006, no less than network giant ABS-CBN decided to bankroll Pacquiao?s 12-round title fight against Mexican Oscar Larios at the Big Dome. The card was a success, proving that Filipino businessmen had what it takes to handle a world-class boxing promotion.
Veteran sports broadcaster Ed Picson and former PBA Commissioner Noli Eala are now dipping their fingers into the promotional aspect of boxing. The recent smash hit VisMin Boxing Cup in Cagayan de Oro was the handiwork of Picson while Eala?s Third Force group is currently working on the December 2 Big Dome return of prospect Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista.
Mall theaters, which had been steadily losing patronage what with the dwindling number of locally produced movies, have found a new box-office king in Pacquiao. Tickets sell like hotcakes whenever the fights of Pacquiao are shown in movie cinemas.
Prospective world champions
Even the Philippine National Police has benefited from Pacquiao?s fame, claiming a zero crime rate whenever Pacquiao has a televised bout.
Boxing, once viewed as a sport for thugs, is now being looked upon as a fitness sport. Several Elorde boxing gyms have sprouted in the metropolis and celebrities like Gretchen Barretto are taking up the sport to stay in shape. There have even been attempts to include boxing as a Physical Ed subject in high schools.
?My countrymen?s hopes and dreams are on my shoulders,? Pacquiao told ESPN. ?Our country has been through a lot. One of the good things in their eyes is that I keep winning. When I was young, I had high hopes, but I never imagined I?d get to be this big.?
The biggest beneficiary, of course, is Philippine boxing itself. Pacquiao has made it a point to insert an up-and-coming Pinoy pugilist in the undercards of his megabouts overseas. The end-result has Philippine boxing teeming with world title prospects?contenders like Z. Gorres, A. J. Banal and Bautista.
Believe it or not, Philippine boxing is on the verge of ending the year with no less than four reigning world champions?IBF flyweight king Nonito Donaire, IBF minimumweight champ Florante Condes and WBO titlists Gerry Pe?alosa (bantamweight) and Donnie Nietes (minimum-weight).
Of course, Pacquiao remains at the forefront of everything. At 28, PacMan figures to have a few more years left in the ring. While the pressure to keep on winning is heavy, PacMan remains to be up to the task.
?Manny?s from the Philippines, he?s used to being poor and hungry so he?s really a dedicated guy,? said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao?s trainer. ?I tried to get him to take Sundays off with road work. He says ?No, my opponent might run everyday. I have to run everyday.??
