A Great Filipino Fighter

A GREAT FILIPINO FIGHTER

by Anton Antonio

May 1, 2015

Who is this man who brought the crime statistics to near zero level in his country whenever he fought in the boxing ring?  Who is this Filipino whose image is recognized by most people on planet earth?  Who is this man who successfully transcended from super poor to super rich?

Several months ago, my friend Bimboy Arandia was on a business trip in Paris, France when he chanced upon Mauricio Milani “Shogun” Rua… a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who is the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight Champion and the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion.  Bimboy immediately took the opportunity to request “Shogun” for a selfie with him.  After introducing himself as a Filipino, “Shogun” instinctively responded: “Ahhh… Pacquiao!”  Bimboy, a very amiable person, could have easily charmed his way to the selfie but was able to do it with ease simply because he was a kababayan (countryman) of Manny Pacquiao. 

In another incident, my son-in-law, Mich Perez, was attending a business conference in Mexico City and, in a conference break, went around the city wearing his Manny Pacquiao sneakers.  In a shopping mall, a Mexican approached Mich with an offer to buy his shoes.  It was a curious offer for the pair of second-hand shoes since it was a lot more than what Mich actually paid for.  It should also be noted that there is a perception that Manny Pacquiao is a not-too-liked character in Mexico after having disposed off most of their champion boxers.  In fact, they call him “The Mexicutioner” in that part of the world.  Mich brushed away the temptation to sell and decided to hold on to his Manny Pacquiao shoes.  He returned home after the conference with deep reservations whether he made the right decision.

These related stories from Bimboy and Mich say much about the popularity and profound effect of Manny Pacquiao on the world.  And now that Manny is up against Floyd Mayweather, Jr., perhaps the most dangerous opponent he will ever face in his colourful boxing career, in a boxing match dubbed as the “Fight of the Century”, it would probably be good time to look into the “Manny mystic” to better understand the “People’s Champion”.

Manny Pacquiao is the epitome of Filipino socio-economic struggle… a surreal (meaning: very strange or unusual and having the quality of a dream) working class hero.  A lesser known fact about Manny is that he excels in the sport of pool/billiards.  He started off as a young bottle scavenger which earned him the “nom de guerre” (meaning: an assumed name under which a person engages in combat or some other activity or enterprise) “Kid Kulafu” in his early days as an amateur boxer.  (Vino “Kulafu” is a local brand of alcoholic drink very popular in southern Philippines.)  With a string of wins in the boxing ring, Manny decided to become a politician and run for a seat in the Philippine Congress (House of Representatives) where he barely made a difference in legislative work.  He decided to be a singer-composer where his songs are never expected to win awards for musical excellence.  He decided to become an evangelist where his Gospel interpretations remain mundane (meaning: of this earthly world rather than a heavenly or spiritual one).  He decided to become a cross-sport athlete and became the playing coach of the Philippine Basketball Association Kia franchise where he could only muster one point (so far) against natural giants in the game.  He has a tendency to give in to his circle of friends/advisers who are annoyingly brainwashing him as a potential Senator or even President in the future where he is not expected to perform with statesman-like brilliance.  At present, Manny is considered one of the (if not the) richest athlete on planet earth with investments in several profitable business ventures.

All these efforts to being a “Jack of all trades” did nothing but spread Manny thinly on multi-disciplinary concerns… most of which he knows little about.  Others even surmise that he is an overly ambitious person who does not comprehend human limitation.  But isn’t this very Filipino?

Tons of intangible ambition, however, is the only weapon a poor Filipino has to get him out of his impoverished state.  Fact is, there really is nothing wrong about being ambitious, even an overly ambitious one, and there really is no law against being overly ambitious.  Ambition, at whatever level, provides a well of hope to the poor.  In the case of Manny, his greatness can be defined by his willingness to try and sacrifice for anything and everything that crosses his mind.  At best, Manny Pacquiao is a gifted boxer, a ring gladiator par excellence.  Above all these, his best contribution to the Filipino culture is his success story… from humble beginnings to the person of fame that he is now.  Many Filipinos identify with his narratives… and dream on to continuously toil for a chance to walk the path of a Manny Pacquiao.  His most potent contribution to the Filipino consciousness is offering his life story to serve as an inspiration to his countrymen. 

History will perhaps remember Manny Pacquiao as the greatest Filipino boxer who inspired and unified all Filipinos whenever he fought in the world stage.  An entire nation embraced and loved him.  He fought to bring honor, pride and recognition to his country, people and race.  With all his trials and tribulations, Manny Pacquiao is truly a great Filipino fighter.

Just my little thoughts…

(Please visit, like and share Pro EARTH Crusaders on Facebook or follow me at http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/)