Rodrigo “Rudy” Salud, the man who crafted the WBC constitution and by-laws, looks ahead to the Manny Pacquiao-Oscar De La Hoya fight in December and sees the Filipino boxing icon stepping into the ring like light heavyweight Roy Jones Jr. going up against WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz five years ago.
And like Jones Jr., who beat the bigger, heavier Ruiz by a 12-round unanimous decision to wrest away the crown, Salud, the Philippine Basketball Association commissioner from 1988 to 1992 at the height of the league?s glory years, believes Pacquiao has what it takes to diminish the glitter of the American Golden Boy.
“It?s not going to be easy as the other predictions I?ve made; it?s going to be quite tight because De La Hoya is a formidable opponent,” said Salud, who attended the 34th PBA season opening last Sunday on the invitation of his prot?g?, Renauld “Sonny” Barrios, now the league commissioner.
“Pero pababa na si De La Hoya e. So anywhere from three to five percent, lamang talaga tayo. Believe me! You don?t think so? Sige pagkatapos ng laban, let?s talk again.”
Salud recalls that Jones Jr., who became the first former middleweight titleholder to win a heavyweight crown in 106 years, gave away a weight difference of “close to 40 pounds” in challenging Ruiz, who came in at 226 lbs. to the 193 lbs. of Jones Jr.
“E dito nga kay Pacquiao hindi pa gaanong factor and timbang dahil they will have to weigh not more than 147 before the fight,” he said. “Pacquiao will probably come in at 145 or 146 na timbang na niyang talaga sa mga ilang laban niya. Malapit na don e, nagre-reduce lang.”
Leaving the subject matter of the sweet science for a topic just as close to his heart ? basketball ? Salud, dapper as when he ran the league two decades ago, bares that he attended a PBA special event for only the third time since his retirement and was amazed at the big number of new faces on parade.
“Puro bago na mga mukha. Sina (Asi) Taulava and (Mick) Pennisi na lang halos ang kakilala ko,” he said, breaking into laughter.
Salud recalls that he graced the PBA?s 25th year anniversary in 2000 and the PBA Hall of Fame ceremony in 2005 where he was one of the pioneer inductees, along with founding commissioner Leo Prieto, legendary coach Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan, and basketball icon Robert Jaworski, among others.
”Ngayon na lang uli,” he said.
A couple of heart surgeries, Salud revealed, kept him from attending PBA games on a more regular basis.
“Walang akong magawa. Panay-panay ang operasyon sa ?kin e.”
A man of dazzling eloquence, charismatic persuasion, legal acumen and razor-sharp wit, Salud, even with his recent ailment, has lost none of his inspiring attributes, especially his unique brand of self-deprecating humor.
“Ang edad ng tao pag wala siya kahit anong sakit, age is just a number. Pero yung mga kamukha ko na biyak-biyak na?my days are numbered,” Salud, now 70, says, roaring as he delivers the punch line.
Salud said he keeps himself busy minding the family business, exercising daily at home, and dropping by occasionally at big-time cock derbies.
“But most of my time is devoted,” he adds, again laughing, “to surviving.”
At sideline with Barrios and US Ambassador Kristie Kenney, the special guest of honor for the inaugural game between Talk ?N Text and Coca-Cola that Saturday, Salud said he couldn?t help but marvel at the height and heft of the current batch of professional players.
“Ang lalaki ng mga players ngayon, ha. I?m amazed. Bilib talaga ako. Dati si Jaworski malaki na katawan non e. Yun pala payat siya pag nakita mo ngayon. Mada-dwarf siya sa tabi nitong mga ito.”
Salud believes, however, that the Big J and his contemporaries were amply compensated for their relative deficiency in bulk.
“Of course, mas maliit nga ang katawan ni Jaworski, pero malaki naman ang utak non,” Salud noted. “Like Philip Cezar, payat ang katawan niya, pero ang brains niya ang laki. Sina [Mon] Fernandez din, di ba?”
Sensitivity to feathers and other types of allergenic, Salud said, has forced him to limit his exposure during cockfights.
“One, two hours, then I?m out of there.”
And on alternate days, for one hour and 15 minutes and then for 45 minutes, Salud works out on a stationary bike and other exercise equipment which he purchased after his release from the hospital.
“Sa bahay na lang ako nage-exercise. Mahirap na traffic ngayon e,” he said.
Life, Salud confides, is “a day-to-day affair.”
His voice is solemn when he says that. But with the pink glow of health on his cheeks, his straight form when he walked into the playing court to join Ms. Kenney and Barrios for the ceremonial toss, and the passionate way he argued the case for Manny Pacquiao, one can?t help but wonder if the great man is once more spinning a yarn, offering yet another self-effacing line that only someone of his stature can pass off as unvarnished truth.
Or maybe that really is what life is nowadays for Rudy Salud. But he has been around, and it wouldn?t be wise to bet against him either in the Pacquiao-De La Hoya fight or in his ability to get the best from whatever life has to offer.
