“WOW, I was that near him,” my grandson, Chico, gushed after Manny Pacquiao passed by the improvised ringside section of the Cebu City Sports Center last Saturday evening. Many others were not as thrilled, however, loudly booing when the boxer’s name was announced. They did not have the innocence of a nine-year-old, I muttered to myself.
It is not that the Cebuanos do not know their boxing. After all, wasn’t the greatest Filipino boxing champion of all time one of us? Rather, it is because we know our politics even better.
That explains why the loudest boos were reserved for Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, who, it is believed, rightly or wrongly, had influenced Pacman into becoming a politician like him. At least, many still cheered for Pacquiao although their voices were not enough to drown out the booing.
While I was watching one of the accompanying main events, the thought occurred to me: what if it wasn’t an ordinary Filipino boxer in the ring but an honorable member of Congress? A friend, Rolly Valderrama, had raised the same point earlier; how would we react to the sight of a congressman at the receiving end of a beating from a foreign boxer?
Don’t get me wrong. There is no shame in boxing as a calling. Many boxers are known to lead more honorable lives than some congressmen. At least, they sweat and bleed to earn their keep.
But please, for a boxer to think that he can swing deals in Congress and trade mitts inside the ring at the same time, that’s pure megalomania. Muhammad Ali is one of the greatest fighters the world has ever seen but even at the height of his fame, he never for once entertained the thought of becoming a member of the United States Congress.
It was not because Ali could not sing Labang Ito Para Sa Iyo. He simply was aware that boxing and legislation were two different worlds and that he did not need any formal title to serve the public and help his people.
I mentioned that because from what I have read, that is one of the excuses that Pacquiao now uses to justify his seeking a seat in Congress. He wants to help his people. How, he is not telling us.
What Pacquiao does not know or has forgotten is that he has been helping the Filipino people in many more ways than the crooks that surround him could imagine. Right now, he is the single biggest unifying force in the country. He has brought hope, happiness and honor to a nation whose name has become synonymous with domestics and care-givers.
Pacquiao, the boxing champion, belonged to no one. Now the Liberal Party of Atienza is claiming him as its own. The people are not willing to let go because they love him. It was not Manny, the boxer, whom they booed but Manny, the incipient politician.
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I am not a boxing expert, just an ordinary wage-earner who pays good money to watch good boxing matches, so you can take my opinion on the Z Gorres vs. Fernando Montiel bout with a grain of salt.
I agree that the two one-point deductions imposed on the local boxer were questionable but even without them, I do not think that it would have been fair to declare Gorres the winner. The most that he could have hoped for was a draw.
Gorres was not robbed, a view that most of those who watched the fight obviously shared. Otherwise, the crowd would have rioted. Instead, they accepted the verdict with quiet dignity.
You see, the Cebuanos don’t cheat.
