OUTSIDE LOOKING IN: MANNY AND JINKEE'S LITTLE PRINCESS
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 28 Mar 2015
LOS ANGELES - If heroes are a measure of society, then the events of the past five years before the ?Biggest Fight of the Century? between pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Filipino ring hero Manny Pacquiao was formalized should tell us of the present moral degeneration a situation that did not escape many, including a nine-year-old daughter of the reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion.
Princess, you see, was the only one among members of Pacquiao family who expressed her approval for his father to fight Money May, not only to decide who the best and the greatest between them but to silence the unbeaten World Boxing Council/World Boxing Association 147-pound titleholder from bad-mouthing her eight-division belt-owner Dad.
Now, after half a decade of continued futile negotiations, Mayweather, who was a product of environment that made him a fighting machine, unchallengeable by men, will, finally be fighting Pacquiao on May 2 at the posh MGM Grand in Las Vegas, making Princess, like millions of her elders, happy.
In a chance interview at the family mansion on Plymouth St. this city, Princess told this writer she?s happy because, what she wished a few years back will finally come true and that his Dad and those whom May Money had bad-mouthed will have the chance to vindicate themselves.
Already a bible student at her young age, Princess, like her Mom and Dad, can recite verses from the scripture verbatim and without cramming.
?Of course, as I said then, I want Daddy to win that fight. And he will, I?m sure of that because that?s what I?ve been praying for,? she said without batting an eyelash. My Mom, brothers and sister have also been praying that he wins if only to prove that all those said against him and the other victims of his blubber-mouthing aren?t true.
?And I hope God hears our prayers,? she said.
Brave girl, just like her father and mother, Sarangani Vice Goc. Jinkee. Little Princess, of course, was referring to Mayweather and his father?s as well as his uncle?s pronouncement that the elder Pacquiao had been taking prohibited substance in his successful fighting career that brought him considerable popularity and fortune from mere light-flyweight campaigner to become the only man on earth champion to win eight world championships in as many weight divisions.
Why, the Mayweather family even came out with a stupendous pronouncement that Filipino soldiers are taking performance enhancing drugs to prevent them from feeling the effect of bullets, adding that the Philippines is a center in the production of illegal substance. An insult, not only to Pacquiao as a Filipino, but to the entire Filipino nation as well.
Millions of Filipinos and millions, too, around the world, who wanted the fight realized, have been rewarded and now praying, like Little princess, that Pacquiao, who reads bible than hurls insults to ad malign everybody, wins.
o0o
Filipinos back home must have already been too familiar with the 3rd St. cor. Hauser here in L.A. The place, you see, is where the Plaza Park Lodge and Hotel, one of the billeting venue of members of Team Pacquiao have been staying since the Sarangani Congressman and group pitched camp at the Wild Card Gym last Feb. 8, is located.
The place and its vicinity are places where GMA 7?s tireless and hardworking Connie Sison has been airing live the on-goings in the Filipino?s preparations for the May 2 million-dollar ?Mother of All Fights? versus Mayweather.
The pretty Ms. Sison, incidentally, and her cameraman Don Morales, have been in L.A. from the time the Pacman begun his training. The duo have been doing the gigantic coverage for the television network all by themselves until Mark Zambrano and partner Boyet Salinas came by way of reinforcement a week ago.
A job well done, indeed, Ms. Connie. Kudos.
o0o
Why organizers of the press conference announcing the joint coverage of the Pacquiao-Mayweather super-fight didn?t realize that waking up Pacquiao at 3 o?clock in the morning just to ask for a message would disturb the champ?s training calendar puzzled both chief trainer Freddie Roach and conditioning coach Justin Fortune. For lack of sleep, both handlers cancelled the fighting Sarangani Congressman?s leg-strengthening regimen scheduled early morning that day.
The organizers, both claimed, could have set the presscon at daytime in L.A. Or, the duo added, they could have taped the proceedings as well as Pacquiao?s message at a time convenient to the fighter.
At the height of the crucial period of preparations, that day?s loss meant a lot, Roach and Fortune chorused bewailed.
Thank God, there?s still a month or so to recover lost ground, but both Roach and Fortune believe Pacquiao has to double time his efforts in catching up. And to think that their prized pupil has already been killing himself in his preparations to, once again, bring honors to the country and the word Filipino.
Photo: Pacquiao with daughters Princess (R) and Queen Elizabeth (L).
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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