Once upon a time, boxing scholar Hermie Rivera was a non-believer. In 2003, he appeared on TV and predicted Manny Pacquiao would lose to Marco Antonio Barrera in their battle for The Ring Magazine featherweight title in San Antonio, Texas. Rivera joined Al Mendoza, Ed Picson and yours truly in the studio panel assembled to provide analysis and commentary.
Rivera never lived down what he said. He was lambasted by Pacquiao faithful for going against the then-budding ring icon. As it turned out, Pacquiao halted Barrera in the 11th round, leaving Rivera eating humble pie. To this day, fans recall Rivera?s blasphemy and some remind him to smash his crystal ball. But Rivera has moved on and is now one of Pacquiao?s most vocal rah-rah boys. He learned his lesson the hard way. An astute political analyst, Rivera wouldn?t commit the same mistake twice.
Rivera, who now lives in Newark, California, recently blew into town to attend to his latest caper ? he?s lobbying for the passage of a bill denouncing steroid dealer Angel Hernandez, also known as Memo Heredia, and other deviants who use illegal means to enhance the performance of athletes, particularly boxers. He?s working closely with Sen. Gringo Honasan in drafting the bill, a copy of which should be on Rep. Manny Pacquiao?s desk any day now. Also involved in crafting the bill are Sen. Sonny Trillanes and Sen. Bongbong Marcos.
More than turning the heat on malefactors, the bill aims to protect Filipino fighters from being maimed by drugged opponents. Rivera said he was inspired to suggest the bill by Pacquiao?s close win over Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas last month.
?Manny?s our national treasure,? said Rivera. ?I couldn?t believe Heredia was allowed to train Marquez. And I also couldn?t believe how big and how strong Marquez was on the day of the fight. Manny felt his punches right from the start and probably knew he was up against a souped-up fighter. Manny could?ve been badly hurt. My idea is to clamp down on steroid pushers and users. There?s no place for those guys in boxing. We want to eradicate the use of performance-enhancing drugs which may be almost undetectable today.?
