Even the staid Kilosbayan magazine, in its latest issue, had a feature on Manny Pacquiao.
What about Diosdado “The Prince” Gabi, a prince who may remain a pauper for some time? He is, sadly, a loser, at least, over the weekend. There was no Arroyo by his side this time—no one clambering up the ring or handing him a mobile phone. Nor will he get an invitation from Lito Atienza, the Palace or even Jojo Binay, any time soon. If he had won, with his first name alone, he would have been honored by GMA beyond compare.
That is not to be, unless his luck changes, as we all hope.
That is the lot of the loser. There is always plenty of space in his dressing room which for a winner is a mob scene.
I don’t know that I would like to see again the sight of the fallen Prince, roughed-up face, with open mouth and eyes in obvious disconnect in the eighth after he got hit by a devastating killer punch, not a flurry, but a solo blow. The ref mercifully saved him from further punishment and he sat there, on his stool, looking miserable.
I am happy that one man is not going to abandon him, Gov. Manny Pi?ol, even if he apparently has his own sentimiento about how his ward might have walked out of him on the sly.
President Erap was telling me that when Manny Pacquiao was a nobody, Rod Nazario took care of him. Time may indeed heal all wounds and this is no time for recrimination.
I remember a fight I saw in Rizal Memorial Coliseum decades ago which ended in a riot. I fled, as a certified coward. I did not need the glory of being the last man standing. I took a jeepney to Quiapo and in Plaza Miranda, late that night, I got aboard and sat at the back of a Mandbusco bus. There was one of the fighters involved, for whom I had immediate empathy.
Freddie Roach cannot win “em all. I hope somebody surprises the fallen fighter when he comes home. He had put up a gallant fight against Vic Darchinyan, of stock from fierce Armenia.
When I was a child, I read in either the Reader”s Digest or Coronet the anecdote about a veteran returning from the war with one arm and one leg gone, and on that basis was kind of discriminated against. Across the decades, I had to wonder whether that vignette was true for I have seen how America truly, impressively honors its soldiers.
The Prince might come home a fallen warrior but he needs solace so I hope those in a position to help will help, like Governor Manny, with no fanfare.
For all my reservations about the boxing profession, anyone who comes out in the middle of the ring wearing our colors deserves our support. Bloody boxing made Imelda turn away from the Thrilla in Manila in 1975. But, like Bata Reyes, et al., Manny Pacquiao, et al., may have spurred new interest and excitement in the blood sport, like bullfighting, in coup-prone Latin America decades ago.
A shocked woman from north of the border, told that bullfighting was the country’s No. 1 sport, blurted: “Isn’t it revolting?”
“No, se?ora, revolting is only our No. 2, sport,” said her host.
If those concerned do not make the supreme sacrifice, we may yet be seen as one of those strong Latin American banana republics. Meantime, Sweet Prince, just look at it as a bump in the road.
