A BIG fight often results in a big change in a fighter.
Whether this is for the good or the better depends on the fighter himself.
It was not exaggerated what experts said that both Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier had spent half of their original gifts after the galactic Thrilla in Manila.
They were never the same again after that Big Bang at the Big Dome on Oct. 1,1975.
The Greatest won by technical knockout in the 14th round, but the Ali we were to see in subsequent fights was no longer as sharp, golden as the original that blazed the world with his ring skills and poetic wit.
So how much did Manny Pacquiao lose in his classic encounter with Mexican legend Erik Morales at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last month?
Maybe little, maybe much.
There’s no way we could aptly measure the deterioration now.
The fighting heart, the flamboyance are still very evident in the knockout artist from General Santos City who himself had to run in order to avoid being knocked out.
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It’s hard to say. But the discovery that he had to turn back, instead of going to his original rat-tat-tat devil-may-care way, in order to survive could be part of the changed Pacquiao.
What’s truly evident, though, is that Pacquiao has lost a bundle to his US promoter, Murad Muhammad, who took the bag and ran away with the pay-per-view profits that rightfully belonged to the RP boxing idol.
How his local handlers, supposedly wise to the ways of the prizefight underworld, had allowed Pacquiao to be robbed neat smacks of a grand conspiracy.
There was no full disclosure of the perks that went with the actual purse, a clear violation of the Muhammad Ali Act normally followed in professional boxing bouts in the United States.
OK, Pacquiao lost big money after he got giddy and was blinded by the $1.75 million purse foxily dangled by Murad.
But there could be another setback Pacquiao had suffered.
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He could’ve ended up a “damaged good” after the all-revealing Morales encounter.
This observation was offered by Puerto Rican cutman Leny de Jesus, who worked Pacquiao’s corner at the MGM Grand Arena last month.
By that, De Jesus, who has worked more world title bouts than trainer Freddie Roach, clearly meant Pacquiao is no longer “as good as the original.”
De Jesus said he sensed a clear inner fracture, not plain ferment.
Well, at least we continue to receive joyful reports from the Pacquiao camp, like how he had won in a cockfight derby in Pasay over the weekend.
Pacquiao could be painting the town red based on sightings of the celebrated fighter in pool parlors and cockfight arenas.
He’s entitled to unbridled freedom after having labored hard for nearly three months while preparing for the Morales fight.
But he obviously went overboard when he came home early morning Saturday and refused to honor his commitment with a senior journalist who deserves the highest respect.
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The news of Pacquiao standing up Star columnist Teddy Benigno, the original Cory Aquino Press secretary who was in the forefront of the anti-Marcos fight, came with the impact of a knockout.
But it was a dirty blow, below the belt, no matter how you looked at it.
For one, it was Pacquiao who had set the interview: 9 a.m. in his BF Para?aque residence last Friday.
Benigno, ever the tested warrior, was at the Pacquiao doorstep at the appointed hour.
But Pacquiao, who came home at 5 a.m. that day remained solemnly locked inside his air-conditioned room.
Househelp and security told Benigno he could try his luck and wait until noon, when Pacquiao might decide to get up.
Benigno left without a word.
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Wrote the celebrated and respected columnist on Monday: “Not in all the many years I have been a journalist have I waited for even a president of the Philippines that long… I figured my time was just as important as his time and if he couldn’t make it on time, he owed me an apology.”
Well, the sorry thing is that Benigno, who has scored more significant knockouts than Pacquiao in his own field, has received no apology.
No note, no call. It’s said that Pacquiao had made even the President wait long when they were doing an election commercial last year.
Well, for Pacquiao’s information, Benigno went to his place in a bid to “rid him of the leeches bleeding him dry.”
Knowing Benigno, whom we have admired and looked up to since our college days, Pacquiao could’ve gotten some points on poise and integrity from the former guerilla and street fighter.
Benigno could’ve been of great help, more than all the politicians of all weight categories pretending to support Pacquiao but who clearly ride on his fame.
For the record, Benigno did not solicit support in reporting the unsavory incident.
If there’s one who needed sympathy, it was not Teddy Benigno, the man, it was the childish Manny Pacquiao.
