THE REAL CHAMP!
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 05 Sep 2012
Remember little Andre Ilano? He is the four year old cancer stricken kid who is a big Manny Pacquiao fan. I had the privilege of writing his story and his memorable encounter with his idol in this site last May during Pacquiao's preparations for his last fight. (http://philboxing.com/news/story-74630.html)
Andre was a welcome present during fight week last June in Las Vegas. Andre intently watched his idol train at the gym as he prepared for Timothy Bradley. He will be mimicking Pacquiao's moves after that. He is also often seen interacting with Pacquiao during bible studies that were a nightly occurrence during that week.
Andre had one of his biggest dreams realized that time. The brave young boy together with dad Allan and mom Ella were treated to ringside seats to watch his favorite boxer fight, tickets that were courtesy of Pacquiao himself.
"He had a fever that afternoon, but thank God before the fight nawala din (it subsided)," narrated Ella of son Andre who is suffering from Neuroblastoma. "He really wanted to go, he really loves Manny," she said.
Andre like the millions who watched the fight was disappointed of the result when the judges awarded the controversial victory to Bradley. But the four year old boy knew who really won that night. "We asked him who won, he said Manny," said Mommy Ella.
The Ilano's are celebrating Andre's 5th birthday today and his family has a lot to be thankful for. "Wala na siyang cancer!" (He is cancer free!) exclaimed Mommy Ella.
Andre's recent test and scans that were performed last month in New York showed that Andre's cancer is in remission. But he will still continue his cycle of treatments to hopefully prevent the cancerous tumor from coming back according to his mother.
"Happy, I am happy!" was Andre's quick response when I asked him of the great news regarding his condition. The Ilano's were on their way to Chuck E. Cheese's to celebrate Andre's birthday when I talked to him over the phone to greet him.
I asked Andre if he is excited to see Manny fight again and he stated "Yes!" He then asked me "Sino ang kalaban niya?" (Who is he fighting?) I told him that I do not know yet for sure.
He asked me again "Di na kaya talo si Manny?" (Will Manny lose again?) I smiled and then replied, "Ewan, depende sa judges uli."(I don't know, it depends on the judges again.) I said jokingly, eliciting laughter from his parents.
I asked him if he thought Pacquiao lost the last time he fought and he replied strongly, "No, No!"
The toddler even gave me a reason why he thought his idol won. "Kasi madami siya boxing. Kasi madami siya suntok." (He boxed more. He threw a lot of punches.)
"Kasi masakit lahat suntok ,madami siyang kain na suntok, si Bradley." (Because those punches hurt and he ate a lot of punches, Bradley did.) was Andre's opinion which gave this boxing observer a smile.
I asked the birthday boy if he would like to fight Tim Bradley to retrieve Pacquiao's championship belt.
"Oo, Paglaki ko, laban din ako." (Yes, when I grow up, I will also fight.)
Andre's mom expressed to me that his son looked and felt better after meeting his idol in the oval track of the USC campus last May. "Lalo siyang naging malakas at mas lalo siyang naging mahilig sa boxing." (He became stronger and he is more into boxing now.)
Andre Ilano may never become a boxer but he acted like a warrior already in his very young life .He never allowed the pangs of this deadly disease to knock him out. He fought and fought through the various stages of chemotherapy and radiation treatments like a boxer fighting through round after round after round. He would watch his favorite boxer on television and draw inspiration from him as he imitated his moves, even during the course of his chemotherapy. It was these moves, this attitude, and this tenacity that won the battle for Andre.
He may never be a champion in the ring but little Andre is a winner already. But then again, we never know if we are just getting a preview of a future world champion in the making. Because he already has shown us that he can be one.
Happy Birthday Champ!
You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com for any reactions to this piece.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
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