(Salute: Juan Abello Lim, 66, will be laid to rest on Tuesday at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani in Taguig City after ceremonies befitting the gentleman and soldier who spent his life serving the country. There will be a 7 a.m. Mass at the St. Ignatius Chapel in Camp Crame. Gifted with quiet grace and dedication, Pareng Johnny always had something nice to say about others. His grandchildren, Nicole and Jacob Trinidad, request prayers for the peaceful rest of their beloved Lolong.)
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After suffering through Joshua Clottey, the wet-market crowd now wants to know if Floyd Mayweather Jr. would fight hard and prove better than the Big Bore from Ghana.
They wonder: Can Mayweather, who’s fast but is not really a big puncher like Pacquiao, be able to stand up to the fabulous fury of the Pacific Storm?
Pacquiao himself no longer sounded keen for an answer.
“I came this far in my career without him—there’s no need to call him out,” the Los Angeles Times Monday quoted Pacquiao as saying.
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The LA Times likewise noted Pacquiao’s certainty that his “career will not be compromised if he doesn’t fight Mayweather.”
Pacquiao did not have to explain.
He has nothing more left to prove inside the boxing ring.
Of course, there would be diverging views.
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Take newspaper stand owner Tom Diaz, who swore Clottey had initially compromised his keen admiration for Pacquiao.
“Nung una, akala ko hindi maganda (At first, I thought it was a sham),” he explained at the corner of old Gabby’s off Aglipay Street in Mandaluyong City.
The lean, tall boxing fan admitted he only had himself to blame.
He was finally thrilled to Pacquiao’s conquest of Clottey but only after it was replayed on Solar TV Sunday night.
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“Styles make great fights, you agree?” he asked.
Yes, indeed.
“It was actually a bout between a race car and a dump truck, a bore and a blur.”
So how did it finally go right?
“They were dancing to different tempos, sizzling rock against sticky waltz.”
How did you finally enjoy it?
“Give credit to Pacman, sinubok lahat, he gave everything to make it thrilling.”
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Tom swore he fell wholly to the promise of another knockout.
Well, it was not exactly a case of admiration—or love getting lovelier the second time around.
But, just like many other Pinoy fans who bothered to have a second look at the bout, Tom said he got sweetly rewarded with a good, relevant show.
Of course, not all fans out there took a second helping in order to savor it.
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“It was to me a complete event, buo at malasa,” explained civic leader Nandy Charvet, chief executive officer at Printwell, an industry leader.
Charvet, a keen student of boxing, said the ultimate test Pacquiao took and passed completed his admiration for the boxing superhero.
“At least, he was able to show how great he is even without scoring a knockout,” agreed Jeff Clemente of Mazda-Philippines, who takes pride in the fact that Pacquiao started out and won his first big title—the Orient-Pacific flyweight crown—in his native Mandaluyong.
