SPLIT PERSONALITY
By Manny Piñol
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 22 Jan 2009
I have known Ronnie Nathanielsz for over three decades now and saw him from a distance many years before that when he worked as one of the propagandists of former President Ferdinand Marcos.
But until today, I could not still make up who the real Nathanielsz is. Sri Lankan or Filipino? Propagandist or journalist?
Lately, Nathanielsz has proclaimed himself through his writings in www.philboxing.com as the guru of boxing journalism and like a pope, he assumed the power of blessing this boxing event as "exciting" and the other as "boring," this boxer as a "workhorse" and the other as a "worthy opponent."
Frankly, I couldn't care less because in the real world of sports journalism where the writers earn their bread by writing real sports stories, Ronnie's stuffs are often taken with a grain of salt.
(I was part of that group until fate brought me to the world of politics. And now, with my personal involvement in boxing as manager and promoter, I simply lost the right to claim that I am an objective boxing journalist.)
But Ronnie has simply no qualms, no manifestation of uneasiness, in projecting himself as a hard-hitting and incisive boxing boxing writer.
Again, I have no beef with that. The problem with Nathanielsz though is that he just could not keep his hands in his pockets.
Last week, when it was announced that world bantamweight champion Gerry Penalosa will fight a Mexican journeyman in Mandaue City on Feb. 21 as part of his preparation for the very important encounter with Puerto Rican Juan Manuel Lopez, the WBO superbantamweight titlist, Ronnie immediately came up with an indictment: German Meraz is a "workhorse" with a record of 20 wins (8 KOs), 10 losses and 2 draws and therefore an unworthy opponent for the 36-year-old Filipino champion.
A day or two before that, he gleefully wrote in www.philboxing.com that "Excitement was building up" over the fights featuring AJ Banal and Cesar Amonsot who will be fighting "worthy opponents" from Indonesia -- Nouldy Manakane for Banal and Zoel Fidal for Amonsot.
Worthy opponents? Manakane, while he is the Indonesian jr. bantamweight champion, has a record of 17 wins (8 KOs) with 7 losses, 3 of which came by knockout. Fidal holds a record of 16 wins (7 KOs) with 6 losses, 3 of which came by knockout. Worse, Fidal has lost 4 of his last 6 fights, including his last fight.
(I am helping Gerry prepare for his fight against Lopez and since he has not fought for almost a year, it is imperative that he has to take one "tune up" fight before his April 24 engagement with a dangerous opponent. Efforts were made to get Penalosa a name opponent -- Heriberto Ruiz and Hector Velasquez were considered but both could not make it. Besides, there was never any attempt on our part to deceive boxing fans. This is a tune up fight and Gerry is supposed to win. That's the reality)
So, why did Nathanielsz call the Indonesians "worthy opponents" and the Mexican fighter a "workhorse." It's because Nathanielsz said so. It's because when he wrote the critique against Penalosa's opponent, he was a critical boxing journalist and when he trumpeted the Banal and Amonsot fights as exciting, he was wearing a propagandist's robe.
I could actually let that pass knowing that Ronnie is just trying to make a living. I have long accepted the fact that he not only has a split personality but multiple personalities.
But his recent articles prodding and pressuring Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao into accepting the 50-50 purse split in his fight against Ricky Hatton are simply revolting.
And here the question comes back: Is Nathanielsz a Filipino or a foreigner? Does he really care about Manny Pacquiao or give a damn about national pride?
In his articles, Nathanielsz wrote like he was representing the interests of Ricky Hatton and Bob Arum.
I talked to Manny Pacquiao by phone a few days back and he calmly explained that it is not the money that really matters in this purse tug-of-war that has marred his planned fight with Hatton but "respect."
And I agree. For so long, Pacquiao has suffered, worked hard and sacrificed to get where he is today. Does he not deserve a certain amount of respect now that he the world's best pound for pound fighter?
Damn, he deserves a bigger share of the purse, not only because he is the better fighter, but simply because Pacquiao's demand for a "little respect" mirrors the feelings of Filipinos like you and me, a people who have suffered for so long seeking a better life and recognition.
True Filipinos like you and me should back Manny Pacquiao and tell him to stand his ground against this brazen attempt to belittle his achievements in this sport, to deprive him of the respect and recognition that he truly deserves.
As for Nathanielsz? He should go to Mexico where they make these intricate masks that they wear during festivals. He should buy a lot. They will be very useful in his ever changing views and loyalties.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Manny Piñol.
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