Pacman eats Mexico + UK + Puerto Rico Artwork by: Ralph Reigner Esquivias
My brother Bob is in the middle of the Indian Ocean but he just had to call me (using a sat phone) to ask me how the fight went. He was not satisfied knowing Manny Pacquiao won. He wanted to know every detail of the 12-round fight.
Bob and I, before the Pacquaio-De La Hoya fight
Manny won again. So what’s new? Well, he did it in a weight division, seven rungs higher than his first belt. From flyweight to welterweight, his feat is simply amazing.
Some call him the best pound for pound boxer in the world. Some tag him as the best fighter of this era.
For all his achievements, one that has greatest impact for me is the unifying and paralyzing effect his fight has on the entire nation. As I was walking the Bonifacio High Street on a sunny Sunday morning, the walkways are devoid of the usual throngs of people. I heard one foreigner quipped, “Where are the people?” And she immediately answered her own question, oh today is the fight! That explains the ghost-town look of Hi-street.
Oh Manny.
With his nakakalokong smile and his ultra-quick punches, Manny united us once again, albeit for a few hours only.
Thanks to the organizers of the TIMEX run who put up a wide screen monitor for those who don’t have access to a live telecast. And watched under a blazing sun, we did.
Once again, the southpaw boxer from Gen San (or is it Sarangani now?) united a nation hungry for something to bind its people together.
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