BOB Arum doesn?t have to tell Manny Pacquiao what to do.
Manny?s too old for that.
Manny?s a world champ not once, twice or thrice but seven times. Who can top that?
Not in these days of wine and roses ? for P-Noy and the 33 Chilean miners suddenly rescued magically from the bowels of the Earth.
And Manny?s become a lawmaker, too, an honorable member of the Congress representing Sarangani Province .
Therefore, Bob should be very careful, or it might boomerang on him.
I mean, Manny?s become more than Mr. Somebody already. Bigger than Mr. Big. Larger than life that even Presidents, world leaders, seek out photo-ops with him now.
So, Bob better be careful. And I know you would, given your stature and track record in the boxing world.
Aren?t you the same guy who helped bring here the ?Thrilla in Manila? on Oct. 1, 1975 for that classic Ali-Frazier bout, which is now called, aptly, ?The Fight of The Century??
But Bob is in town not to chastise Pacquiao, to pontificate, or even to give the champ a piece of his mind.
All right now, a bit of a compromise, please?
It won?t hurt if Bob tells Manny some factual truths. He is a lawyer to begin with, a Harvard alum no less.
So, Bob will tell Pacquiao that he?s seen Margarito killing himself preparing for the fight.
That the Mexican isn?t wasting a single tick of the clock every single day on trivialities.
So that even Margarito giving his wife a mere good night kiss (torrid romancin? has now become a big no-no) would be a triviality if that would interfere in his training regimen.
I?ll buy that, anytime at all.
Bob can even proceed to remind Manny that Margarito has got nothing to lose and everything to gain in their fight on November 14 (Manila Time) in Arlington , Texas .
If Floyd Mayweather Jr. has become Fluke Mayweather Jr. for avoiding Pacquiao, Margarito has become Magnifico for merely clinching a date with Manny.
To say it?s a chance of a lifetime for Margarito is an understatement.
Margarito?s been down in the dumps after that shameful hand-wraps discovered in his fists moments before a fight.
After a year or so, he?s been cleared of the raps, at least by the pistol-packin? Texans.
Today, Margarito?s not merely seeking redemption: He faces the biggest rap of his life.
