REMEMBER that item in this column (‘Manny Pacquiao calls and says I’ll receive one million,’ SSC-May 20, 2005)? I now know that it was not really him who called me on the phone one time, though he was in Cebu then.
The guy on the other line had informed me that I would be receiving one million from Murad Muhammad, though he did not say if it would be in pesos or in dollars. I had been bashing Pacquiao in previous columns before and after his failed title bout with Erik Morales for the WBC super-featherweight championship last March 20.
I even said that the plan of Mayor Tomas Osme?a and Cebu City Councilor Sylvan “Jack” Jakosalem to make him an adopted son is cheapening. What has Pacquiao done for Cebu City? I asked. That particular column drew the ire of a reader, “Ben Ruiz,” who said that he did not like the way I have been treating his “idol.” And the idol of many others like him. Ruiz said that I was not being nationalistic when I picked Morales before their match in Las Vegas.
DINNER WITH MANNY. Earlier, another caller who did not identify himself, also called and told my daughter who answered it: “Ingna siya nga patilawon ko siya sa akong kumo (Tell him that I will let him taste my fist).” Then the mysterious caller hung up. As I said then, I had not even met Pacquiao personally or been introduced to him, though I had seen him play cards at one of the tables of Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino one night.
I did not even approach him. Why would he offer me a million? That is why when I asked again if he was pulling my leg, he replied that he was “Manny Pacquiao Jr.”
Why am I retelling this? Because, finally, I met the real Manny Pacquiao face to face last Thursday night. I shook hands with him. I even sat beside him at Chang Palace where boxing promoter Rex “Wakee” Salud had tendered a dinner for him and his entourage, including friends former IBF champion Dodie Boy Pe?alosa and former City councilor George Rama. We conversed in Cebuano. He was amiable. He answered my questions. He did not say much because most of the time he was tinkering with and talking on his two cellphones. Manny did not look to me like anyone who would harm a fly.
FOR LUCK. When I told him about the threat I received about “patilawon sa akong kumo,” he just grinned. Pacquiao explained that he dropped by Cebu on his way to California to prepare in earnest for his next fight in September “para pabuenas (for luck).” I noticed that he munched only on stripped fried shrimps, sipped a little soup and nothing else. He did not even take refreshments. Only a sip of cold sago juice. And bottled water. It was part of his strict training regimen, he pointed out.
Pacquiao said he really wanted to put up a good show for his countrymen in his battle with Morales but then a head butt in the fifth round, which was ruled as a punch, opened a gash on his right eye. He could not see anymore where some of the punches of Morales were coming from, especially when they emanated from the side of his face. The trickle of blood from his face had blinded him. But he was determined to put up a gallant stand.
SPARTAN MEAL. After his Spartan meal, Pacquiao was busy signing autographs and posing with some of the restaurant patrons. He cuddled a little boy in his lap for a photo op and the tot immediately fell into a yawn as Pacquiao and the others laughed. From his dinner, he repaired to Cue Caf? at Crossroads for a few sporting rounds of his favorite game of rotation billiards with Jaime Ngo. He lost, five racks to three. He said that once he undergoes extensive training, he will forsake all his diversions, including cockfighting and pool.
Accompanying him to Cebu where he stayed for a day (he left yesterday morning) were his American lawyer, Keith Davidson, interpreter Joseph Ramos and trainer Buboy Neri. He worked out for some 30 minutes last Thursday at the RWS Gym in Labangon and was cheered on by some 400 boxing fans. He described the gym as better than other standard boxing gyms where he has worked out. Pacquiao is slated to face Mexican Hector Velasquez in his next fight scheduled for 12 rounds at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Manny needs to concentrate. Everybody is worried.” – Promoter Wakee Salud, quoted by Ronnie Nathanielsz
