kablagh! random thoughts and commentaries on the news
A great boxing nation
The People's Champ
Few would have realised beforehand how lethal a Manny Pacquiao killer punch actually is.
For the many who have had the misfortune of having been at the receiving end of it, the realisation always came too late. It was either when they were on their way down before hitting the canvas or long after they have regained post-fight consciousness. It is not mere under-estimation on their part, as any good boxer would have trained hard and expect to be at their very best on fight night. It is rather a lack of comprehension of what they are up against. Just when they thought they had Pacquiao’s numbers, they were mercilessly proven to be dead wrong.
Pacquiao vs Hatton
In the end, boxing is a battle between two people. Victory is about understanding how good one’s foe is and making sure that one can do much better… and more. It is no mystery that the fortunate few who managed to come back and get a second shot at the Pac-man fared better than the others or themselves when they first encountered the grinning predator. They more or less understood how impossible the task was - to best a Manny Pacquiao who seems to keep getting better as a boxer.
This realisation came in the form of a hazy afterthought in Hatton’s case. From someone who has been planning ahead for a victory party and ultimately a 3-fight retirement plan, Hatton is suddenly faced with the prospect of a halted career in the heels of a crushing 2-round KO defeat to the Filipino Pacquiao. (Incidentally, pakyaw, which is how Pacquiao should be pronounced, in Filipino means “wholesale or a contract for the whole job,” as against daily wage, for example. In Manny’s case, it could very well mean “to take everything,” hence the monicker Pac-man.) Indeed, everything he has ever dreamed of, and so much more, are now his for the taking.
Much has been said about Pacquiao being a hero to the hapless Filipinos. It is perhaps only the Filipinos who have openly expressed their adulation of the boxing great. Beyond the third-world throngs of supporters, every other boxing fan throughout the world surely feel the same, although they may successfully keep themselves from swooning over the power, speed, and style with which the Filipno boxer disposes of opponents almost everytime he steps into the ring. None even among his foes had anything bad to say about him even after suffering defeat in his hands, except perhaps for Juan Manuel Marquez, who has probably suffered too many blows to his head for his own sanity. Floyd Mayweather Jr. may very well send JMM to his much needed retirement shortly.
Filipinos, meanwhile, would probably do well to reflect on two things: First, how can the Philippines transform from a Manny Pacquiao country to a truly great boxing nation? Second, how can the Philippines transform from a nation who needs heroes, to a nation that looks after their heroes long after they have fallen from grace?
Since the turn of the century, the country has given birth to boxing greats who can be counted among the best of the best in the sport. From Pancho Villa in the early 1900s, Flash Elorde in the 50s, Rolando Navarrete in the 80s, to Luisito Espinosa and Doddy Boy Peñalosa in the 90s. And who could forget Onyok Velasco – denied a gold in the Olympics? Now, it is the reign of Manny Pacquiao, arguably the best there ever was, symbolising all that an ordinary Pinoy could wish for. For a nation that is so enamored with the sport, it is a wonder why our boxing champions came few and far between. The Filipinos will continue to blur the distinction between hero-worship and genuine love of the sport, until Pacquiao stops becoming the beloved champion. Then the Filipnos’ love of boxing as a sport will have to wait until a new hero comes along. Such is the way that the Filipinos took to pool, when Efren “Bata” Reyes lorded it over the table. Such is the way that Filipinos took to excellence; to anything that can make the nation great – whether it is a boxing legend or a great political leader. They are so rare they are treasured and worshipped by the masses to legendary status.
Too many of them boxers.
I wish success could come just as emphatically to, and that as a nation, we could afford the same respect and admiration for, the non-boxers who make equally glorious, if not greater, achievements in their chosen fields – medicine, engineering, commerce, the law, politics, etc. There are millions of others who have also toiled heroically in construction sites from Malaysia to Dubai, in ships from the ports of Hong Kong to the Panama and Suez Canals, in hospitals from the Virginia to London, and in homes from Singapore to Lebanon. They are the so-called modern-day heroes, feeding and keeping afloat a nation of 90 million.
Manny Pacquiao, just like millions of Filipinos, was born to a hard life, is hard-working, and continues to hope that his devotion to his Faith will ultimately lead him to a blissful after-life, if not a better life here on earth. But only very few, like Manny Pacquiao, made it out of poverty and misery, in spite of the everyday heroic efforts they make in or out of the boxing ring that is the Philippines society. It goes without saying that salvation usually came at a cost and can be short-lived. From Pancho Villa who died of throat infection when he was barely 24 years old, to Navarrete who had to rely on Pacquiao’s generosity, to Luisito “Earthquake” Espinosa, who now spends his days washing dishes somewhere in the US, we only need to look at the list, and understand what has become of them shortly or long after they stepped out of the square ring into the arena of life.
How many balikbayans went home to a life of disappointment, regret, and the same old poverty after having toiled in foreign lands for most their lives? How I wish that just as the country look to their heroes for national salvation, the heroes can also look to their country for refuge for when they are no longer superstars or the big dollar earners they used to be.
Then can we only refer to our country as a truly great nation. A nation that allows its children to be the best in whatever or wherever they choose to be and welcome them back with open arms and an abundance of choices. A country where a Manny Pacquiao can come home and be just as great being someone else (without politics being the only option).
A people who live the values and the ways of a true champion. A great boxing nation.
This entry was posted
on 4 May 2009 at 10:30 pm and is filed under commentaries , news and side comments.
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A great boxing nation
The People's Champ
Few would have realised beforehand how lethal a Manny Pacquiao killer punch actually is.
For the many who have had the misfortune of having been at the receiving end of it, the realisation always came too late. It was either when they were on their way down before hitting the canvas or long after they have regained post-fight consciousness. It is not mere under-estimation on their part, as any good boxer would have trained hard and expect to be at their very best on fight night. It is rather a lack of comprehension of what they are up against. Just when they thought they had Pacquiao’s numbers, they were mercilessly proven to be dead wrong.
Pacquiao vs Hatton
In the end, boxing is a battle between two people. Victory is about understanding how good one’s foe is and making sure that one can do much better… and more. It is no mystery that the fortunate few who managed to come back and get a second shot at the Pac-man fared better than the others or themselves when they first encountered the grinning predator. They more or less understood how impossible the task was - to best a Manny Pacquiao who seems to keep getting better as a boxer.
This realisation came in the form of a hazy afterthought in Hatton’s case. From someone who has been planning ahead for a victory party and ultimately a 3-fight retirement plan, Hatton is suddenly faced with the prospect of a halted career in the heels of a crushing 2-round KO defeat to the Filipino Pacquiao. (Incidentally, pakyaw, which is how Pacquiao should be pronounced, in Filipino means “wholesale or a contract for the whole job,” as against daily wage, for example. In Manny’s case, it could very well mean “to take everything,” hence the monicker Pac-man.) Indeed, everything he has ever dreamed of, and so much more, are now his for the taking.
Much has been said about Pacquiao being a hero to the hapless Filipinos. It is perhaps only the Filipinos who have openly expressed their adulation of the boxing great. Beyond the third-world throngs of supporters, every other boxing fan throughout the world surely feel the same, although they may successfully keep themselves from swooning over the power, speed, and style with which the Filipno boxer disposes of opponents almost everytime he steps into the ring. None even among his foes had anything bad to say about him even after suffering defeat in his hands, except perhaps for Juan Manuel Marquez, who has probably suffered too many blows to his head for his own sanity. Floyd Mayweather Jr. may very well send JMM to his much needed retirement shortly.
Filipinos, meanwhile, would probably do well to reflect on two things: First, how can the Philippines transform from a Manny Pacquiao country to a truly great boxing nation? Second, how can the Philippines transform from a nation who needs heroes, to a nation that looks after their heroes long after they have fallen from grace?
Since the turn of the century, the country has given birth to boxing greats who can be counted among the best of the best in the sport. From Pancho Villa in the early 1900s, Flash Elorde in the 50s, Rolando Navarrete in the 80s, to Luisito Espinosa and Doddy Boy Peñalosa in the 90s. And who could forget Onyok Velasco – denied a gold in the Olympics? Now, it is the reign of Manny Pacquiao, arguably the best there ever was, symbolising all that an ordinary Pinoy could wish for. For a nation that is so enamored with the sport, it is a wonder why our boxing champions came few and far between. The Filipinos will continue to blur the distinction between hero-worship and genuine love of the sport, until Pacquiao stops becoming the beloved champion. Then the Filipnos’ love of boxing as a sport will have to wait until a new hero comes along. Such is the way that the Filipinos took to pool, when Efren “Bata” Reyes lorded it over the table. Such is the way that Filipinos took to excellence; to anything that can make the nation great – whether it is a boxing legend or a great political leader. They are so rare they are treasured and worshipped by the masses to legendary status.
Too many of them boxers.
I wish success could come just as emphatically to, and that as a nation, we could afford the same respect and admiration for, the non-boxers who make equally glorious, if not greater, achievements in their chosen fields – medicine, engineering, commerce, the law, politics, etc. There are millions of others who have also toiled heroically in construction sites from Malaysia to Dubai, in ships from the ports of Hong Kong to the Panama and Suez Canals, in hospitals from the Virginia to London, and in homes from Singapore to Lebanon. They are the so-called modern-day heroes, feeding and keeping afloat a nation of 90 million.
Manny Pacquiao, just like millions of Filipinos, was born to a hard life, is hard-working, and continues to hope that his devotion to his Faith will ultimately lead him to a blissful after-life, if not a better life here on earth. But only very few, like Manny Pacquiao, made it out of poverty and misery, in spite of the everyday heroic efforts they make in or out of the boxing ring that is the Philippines society. It goes without saying that salvation usually came at a cost and can be short-lived. From Pancho Villa who died of throat infection when he was barely 24 years old, to Navarrete who had to rely on Pacquiao’s generosity, to Luisito “Earthquake” Espinosa, who now spends his days washing dishes somewhere in the US, we only need to look at the list, and understand what has become of them shortly or long after they stepped out of the square ring into the arena of life.
How many balikbayans went home to a life of disappointment, regret, and the same old poverty after having toiled in foreign lands for most their lives? How I wish that just as the country look to their heroes for national salvation, the heroes can also look to their country for refuge for when they are no longer superstars or the big dollar earners they used to be.
Then can we only refer to our country as a truly great nation. A nation that allows its children to be the best in whatever or wherever they choose to be and welcome them back with open arms and an abundance of choices. A country where a Manny Pacquiao can come home and be just as great being someone else (without politics being the only option).
A people who live the values and the ways of a true champion. A great boxing nation.
(Photos from The Ring Magazine on-line)