JGL Eye
By JOSEPH G. LARIOSA
CHICAGO, Illinois (JGLi) –&n=sp; Basketball is a big sport among the vertically challenged Philippine native=. But Manny Pacquiao single-handedly relegated the team sport to the sideline= with his individual sport, using the blinding speed of his hands and his =gile footworks.
And Pacquiao, by winning the improbable seventh title=in as many divisions, had elevated in his beloved country the brutal sport over=the top all by himself even as he ensconced himself as the greatest boxer in Asia, if not in the world. And hopefully, boxing will be up there to stay for a long time.
His convincing technical knockout of Puerto Rican champpon Miguel Cotto 55 seconds into the last and final 12th round of the welterweight championship last Nov. 14 in Las Vegas, Nevada left no doubt that his win was not an aberration either.
Manny avenged the two-time loss of Filipino two-time world boxing champion Gabriel “Flash” Elorde in the sixties to three-time world champion Puerto Rican Carlos Ortiz.
And Pacquiao broke the long-time jinx that any Filipino boxer before him could accomplish by his true grit and his prayer.
His victory was so unbelievable for the camp of his prospective opponent that it is discrediting his super ability by insinuating that the Pacman might be using enhancing performance drug, like steroid to gain an edge in the sport.
DRUG TEST RESULTS
I don’t blame the once estranged father of Floyd Mayweather for floating a trial balloon instead of demanding from the Nevada boxing commission for the results of the tests of the previous fights of Pacquiao of they yielded any positive results of use of banned substance.
I’m sure the young Mayweather, who came out of retirement just to reclaim from Pacquiao the accolade as the undisputed pound-for-pound title in the world, would welcome the public relations stunt pulled by his father if it only put Pacquiao on a defensive.
And if I were in the shoes of Team Pacquiao, I will welcome the entreaty of the big-mouthed former trainer of former world champion Ricky Hatton by returning the favor and also demanding from the same commission the same substance test results of Mayweather’s previous fights in the state.
I just hope it will not come back to haunt Mayweather senior.
The good thing about Pacquiao’s post-fight comment was his own admission that he is not a superman. He told ring announcer Larry Merchant that his historic seventh title in seven weight classes are enough for him to put some distance between him and others, who might follow his footsteps.
Pacquiao’s legacy as I have pointed out in my previous column is now secure now that he had beaten Cotto.
Pacquiao knows that fighting past his prime like others before him, including Flash Elorde, is not the wave of the future for the sportsmen, like him, if we go by conventional wisdom.
He knows that a lot of sports greats, like Muhammad Ali, were attracted by the color of money to fight although they were only shadows of their own selves.
An over-the-hill champion will gain nothing fighting a peaking fighter.
MANNY SHOULD LOOK UP TO THE GREATEST’s DECLINE
After his last fight with Joe Frazier in the trilogy, Ali was in decline. Yet, Ali still fought Leon Spinks, only to lose. Ali fought a rematch and retired after defeating Spinks.
Doctors later discovered after he hanged up his gloves that Ali had “neurological damage, a short term memory and trouble with touching his nose with his hands,” according to boxing writer Tom Donelson.
Manny should not wait for this health problem to happen to him.
He should quit while ahead. Comebackers, like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Brett Favre and George Foreman, had learned they could not stay for long at the top. They are easily returned to reality.
After all, Manny will not be missing the accolades, the respect and the cheers that defined his spectacular career because he can transition to become an actor, a rock star and a celebrity endorser that can serve him well into his old age.
He can even land jobs as a sports broadcaster or trained and avoid looking for a job from the bottom of the pile in a crowded job market and relive the backstory of his pre-fight days.
The human body is not in a position to be in tip-top condition forever. And somehow, the body wears out like a broken car and younger players take over from super athletes, who are no other recourse out to retire.
Hopefully, Manny will not lose all his millions to gabbling – cockfight betting – and other vices and lawsuits by being picky with his advisers, choices and decisions. (lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)