LOS ANGELES, California — A victorious warrior returned to his old bed at the Vagabond Inn here in Hollywood, lay down on it and declared: “I’m the storm across the Pacific.”
The hero’s name is Manny Pacquiao, the most famous living Filipino, who boxed his way to supreme stardom in Las Vegas Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila).
He scored a big revenge by taking the head of a proud Aztec warrior via a 10th-round stoppage inside the boxing ring at the Thomas and Mack Center, with the whole boxing world in attendance in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao, 27, did a feat equal to that of Lapu-Lapu, revered as the first Filipino hero, by beating the great pugilist Erik Morales.
With the win, Pacquiao avenged a previous points defeat to Morales and also retold the gallantry of the Filipino soldiers in Bataan province.
Before him, there were other great Filipino ring warriors like Pancho Villa and Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, who made the Filipino proud.
With his screaming win, Pacquiao also succeeded in sending the timely message that the Pinoy can do a lot better than just clean tables and wash dishes all over the world.
The great thing about Pacquiao is that Morales had manhandled him like a poor, mindless servant when they first clashed inside the boxing ring last March.
