END OF (BOXING) DAYS
By Manny Piñol
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 21 Oct 2010
I have never been so worried and concerned about how Manny Pacquiao will perform in a fight than as I am now.
Well, maybe the reason why I am not quite comfortable about making a categorical statement on a Pacman victory over Antonio Margarito is because I don't know a lot about what's going on in Manny Pacquiao's life right now.
The last time I had a lengthy talk with Manny was almost a year ago, on the eve of his birthday, when I visited him in Gen. Santos City. That happened to be my birthday too.
There was an air of confidence in him having just demolished Miguel Cotto a month earlier. There was also a lot of excitement in his face as he was preparing for his second stab at politics.
Of course, we all know that in between his 31st birthday and the election, he clobbered Joshua Clottey in a non-fight in the very same venue where he will be taking on a bigger and taller opponent on Nov. 13, the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
I have not seen Manny Pacquiao up close since then and I have not looked into his eyes and say with certainty that the fire of a hungry fighter is still burning.
You see, the secret to Manny Pacquiao's victories in the ring is his desire to win which fuels his confidence and enlarges his heart.
I remember one story relayed to me by former L & M Gym owner Lito Mondejar, one of the closest guys to Manny before he gained fame and fortune, where the Pacman asked his jittery entourage inside the dugout prior to the Marco Antonio Barrera fight: "Bakit kayo ang kinakabahan, e ako naman ang lalaban." (Why are you so scared, I'm the one who's going to fight.)
Such is the spirit of Manny Pacquiao. The big question now is: Is that fighting spirit still alive and well?
Has not his newly-gained political power and fame affected his attitude as a fighter? Has not his confidence degenerated into over-confidence?
Has not the comfort of life and the string of victories, the latest being in politics, cooled the fire inside Manny Pacquiao, the hungry fighter?
Has not the thought that whatever happens, he already has the money and a political career to fall back to, crept into the mindset of Manny Pacquiao?
These are the questions that will never be answered until after Nov. 13. Until then people who truly care for this street kid who rose from the dust to become one of the greatest in boxing will have to sit on pins and needles in anxious anticipation.
Media reports quoting promoter Bob Arum as saying that he was not happy with the way Manny Pacquiao was training now gives us added discomfort.
Are we seeing the ominous signs of the End of Boxing Days for Manny Pacquiao?
Let's pray not because a Manny Pacquiao defeat, while it may have little effect on his wealth and politics, will be a great tragedy to a people whose joys in life are so few but whose sufferings and miseries are so great.
The end of Manny Pacquiao's boxing days will also be the end of a lengthy joy ride for a nation who see him as the personification of their own dreams of redemption from the squalor of poverty and social deprivation.
No, Nov. 13, ominous as the number may be, should not be the End of Manny Pacquiao's Boxing Days.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Manny Piñol.
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