DEAR Erik: I am writing this letter because I heard you?re in low spirits and terribly disappointed after your Sunday fight in Las Vegas with our Manny Pacquiao.
Cheer up, amigo. You won that fight fair and square. As far as I?m concerned, you?re the featherweight champion of the world.
So what if you gave Pacquiao that head-butt and that ugly wound on his right eye? It was an accident. Head-butts happen all the time. You could have suffered the bloody gash on the eyebrow, but you didn?t.
It was luck, and Manny just didn?t have it. He could have protected himself. He did not. Besides, the referee ruled the wound was the result of a legitimate punch. So there.
I know, you won by only two points, 115 to 113. That?s not very impressive, is it? That?s what I call a squeaker. But in boxing, as in any sport, a win is a win. Yes, but for that busted eyebrow, the judges might have ruled against you. That?s how the pastas seca crumble, amigo.
But at the end of the fight, your face was still pretty while Pacquiao?s was ready for the emergency room. He looked spent while you looked like you could go up to your room at the MGM Hotel without using the elevator.
You were also disappointed the Philippine Congress sent a big delegation to cheer for Pacquiao while the congreso de Mejico did not dispatch a single lawmaker. Too bad. I?m sure the illegal Mexicans outnumbered the undocumented Filipino ?TNTs? at the ringside and at home.
I know your fight was not eagerly watched in the Philippines by Mexican and Filipino fans. There were two reasons for this. First, the damn TV channel aired the fight almost a day late. By the time the fight came on the screen, radio stations had declared a winner. Excited cell-phone owners also texted friends to tell them the bad news. That dampened our enthusiasm.
As a matter of fact, I must congratulate you and Team Morales for your clever strategy. Looking haggard after arriving in Las Vegas from Mexico was a bright idea. It seemed you had been dieting on tortilla chips for months. You looked like a loser.
You and your camp were very quiet while Pacquiao?s handlers advertised their boy all over the place. They called the attention of every publicist, bettor and cigarette girl in ?Vegas? while your PR people silenced the media with ?no tiene comentos.?
You won that fight on and off the ring. Outside the MGM Grand Garden Arena you were the underdog. On the ring you were the fiercest pit bull. You surprised the fans by going early for Manny?s bodega. You were quick to counterpunch. You delivered timely and harder blows.
On one thing I will agree with you, Erik. You damaged our self-esteem. You lowered the Philippine Gross National Happiness. We lost one good reason to celebrate and be happy about. To use an old phrase, you were a killjoy.
The day after Pacquiao lost, many Filipinos could not wait to get out of town, spend the Holy Week break early, and rush to the resorts to forget their pain. Government and private-sector workers rushed to the beaches to swim away their disappointment. Businesses closed down.
Cabinet members attended their retreat with President Arroyo in sorrow. Senators and congressmen traveled overseas to forget their anger and money lost at the betting counter. Government offices closed down. For almost a week the Philippines dropped out of the international radar.
President Arroyo declared a national crisis and asked again for unity and a government of reconciliation. She called Congress to a special session to pass badly needed tax laws. The New People?s Army vowed to intensify antigovernment operations. The Department of Education considered postponing class opening to December. General Santos City, Pacquiao?s hometown, faces a demotion.
The good news is that Filipinos will overcome this tragedy. We have a short memory. We forget every sin and forgive every crime done to us. We laugh off insults, travel advisories, credit downgrades and poor ratings by global watchdogs. We outlive floods, earthquakes, typhoons, assassinations, kidnappings and cell-phone snatchings with wit and self-deprecating humor.
Erik, your fight with Pacquiao was a classic. People are talking of a rematch. Next time, Manny will pulverize you. Patay kang bata ka.
