By Carlo Pamintuan: The Filipino people have never rallied around a single athlete as they have for Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao. Hordes stayed until the wee hours to watch Mansueto Velasco’s unsuccessful attempt to bag the Philippines’ first gold medal in the Olympics. More watched Efren “Bata” Reyes solidify his status as arguably the best man ever to hold a cue stick by winning the 1999 World Pool Championship in Cardiff, Wales. However, the support these two got from the nation would pale in comparison to what Pacquiao gets each and every time he laces his boots and climbs the ring..
Pacquiao’s magical run began when he was chosen as a late substitute to take on then IBF superbantamweight champion Lehlohonolo Ledwaba on the undercard of the Oscar dela Hoya – Javier Castillejo title fight. In his first fight outside Asia, Pacquiao poured it on from the very start and punished the highly regarded South African. Pacquiao’s efforts were rewarded with a 6th round TKO, the IBF title, and the attention of many boxing aficionados worldwide. This was Pacquiao’s second reign as a world champion as he once held the WBC flyweight title. He lost this belt at the scales before his second title defense then he decided that he was a tad too big for a lightweight. The decision to move up in weight turned out to be a great one for Pacquiao as his career sky-rocketed. From that point on, he has collected wins over great fighter such as Marco Antonio Barrera, Eric Morales, Oscar Larrios, Hector Velasquez and many others. The only blemishes on this great run were two draws, against the late Agapito Sanchez and Juan Manuel Marquez, and a loss to Morales.
It is undeniable that Pacquiao has altered Philippine boxing. In fact, he shook it down to its very roots and revolutionized it. Pacquiao brought in a new level of excitement in boxing that was seldom seen before. As his moniker, Pacquiao does not seem to know how to fight on his heels. He relies on constant pressure to catch his opponent with quick one-two’s and when he senses that his opponent is hurt, Pacquiao runs wild like a bull in a China store. He made an entire nation anticipate each and every time he throws a jab because they know that the dreaded left straight that would finally knock the opponent out is not far behind.
When Manny Pacquiao’s fights, around 300,000 people buy the pay-per-view in the United States. But in the Philippines, a whole nation stops, watches, prays, and celebrates. It is a well-known fact that the normally congested roads of Manila are free of heavy traffic when Pacquiao fights. It is also well documented that crime rates drastically go down when the Pacman climbs the ring. The Filipino see themselves in Pacquiao. A stereotypical rags to riches story that the Filipinos love hearing. Philippine boxing will never be the same again because of Pacquiao and this article aims to discuss the positive and negative effects the boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao has brought about to boxing in the Philippines.
Before Pacquiao, boxing was already a well-loved sport in the Philippines. Quite a number of Filipinos have held different championships before. However, none of them reached the pound-for-pound status that Pacquiao has right now. He opened the door for a plethora of other young fighters who want to fight their way out of poverty in the Philippines. Through Pacquiao, the world saw the potential of Filipino fighters to be successful with the right guidance. Fighters like Z Gorres, Rey “Boomboom” Bautista, AJ Banal, and many others were given huge opportunities abroad because the world knew that if Filipinos were in the ring, they would bring the house down, win or lose. Gerry Penalosa, who is currently enjoying his second reign as a world champion, retired after consecutive losses in title fights. He came back to boxing through people who thought he still had it in him and one of his top supporters in Pacquiao. It was even rumored that the Pacman won a handsome amount of money by betting on Penalosa against Jhonny Gozales of Mexico.
About five years ago, only professional fighters trained in boxing gyms. But now, partly because of Pacquiao, many people flock the gym because they saw boxing not only as a sport they could watch but also as a sport that they could be a part of, a sport that they could learn, and a sport that they can be good at.
Amidst all the good effects that the Pacman has brought Philippine boxing, there are also negative effects that came with it. The first and most obvious is the Filipinos fans’ biased love for punchers. Pacquiao is a devastating puncher. His knockout ration speaks volumes about this but the names of the people that he has knocked out are by far a better measuring stick. With this said, many Filipinos expect all fighters to be like Pacquiao. They want to see knockouts or at least knockdowns. Recently, this author watched a live event where the Philippine championship was at stake. It was a furious battle between Rocky Fuentes and Richie Mepranum. It was a beautiful tactical match between two able competitors but quite a number of those watching were booing. They were booing because the fight was strategic and deliberate. It was clear that they wanted a brawl and that they were not very fond of scientific boxing.
Another clear negative effect of Pacquiao’s stardom is that young Filipino fighters are fed to the lions too early in their careers. Case in point, Rey “Boomboom” Bautista. Bautista was groomed as the nest big thing in Philippine boxing. The Filipino people have picked Bautista as the heir apparent to Pacquiao’s throne because, like the Pacman, Bautista had power and was willing to get hit in order to unload his punches. Bautista had a 23-0 record, 17 coming be the short route. His handlers and many Filipino boxing fans thought he was ready for a title fight. He was picked to take on the very dangerous Daniel Ponce de Leon. Many thought that Bautista had a real chance to grab the title. Many thought that because de Leon only managed a unanimous decision over an old Penalosa a few months back, Bautista will win against him because he is younger and more powerful. Bautista dreams came crashing down on him as he was blown away in the very first round by the obviously better champion. Bautista was clearly overmatched. The fact that very few realized this before the fight was puzzling and a bit amusing to say the least. In his last fight before facing de Leon, Bautista won over, then undefeated, Sergio Manuel Medina. In that match, Bautista was clearly shaken up and as a matter of fact, many claim that Bautista should have been TKO’d if the referee did not give him a standing 8-count in the 11th round. Penalosa was not blown away by de Leon because he has extremely good defense and a granite chin, both factors were apparently not in Bautista’s résumé.
Somebody had to know that Bautista did not have any chance whatsoever against de Leon. Sadly, many of the top boxing analysts in the Philippines picked him to win, by KO no less. It is quite alarming that this kind of mismatch was allowed to happen. Bautista and his promoters may have believed in their own hype a bit too much. Many of you may ask how is Pacquiao a part of the blame. Well, technically he is not. He had nothing to do whatsoever with the signing of that match. He is partly to be blamed because Filipino promoters got caught up with the success he was having. They enjoyed it too much that they thought it was automatic. Hopefully, the Bautista’s loss serves as a wake up call to Philippine boxing. It is terribly wrong to take care of your fighters and not give them opponents who will challenge them but is also wrong to put your fighters in a position when they have no chance of winning and are in great risk of getting badly hurt.
Pacquiao is a one of a kind. The Philippines is very lucky to have a fighter like him. The whole country should enjoy watching Pacquiao perform while he is still near prime. But then, they should let the young fighter develop their own legacy. It may take a very long while before a Filipino gets to the Top 5 of the pound-for-pound list again and this is the reason why people should stop calling young fighters as the next Manny Pacquiao. Instead, let the young guns build their own legacies. Let them be the first AJ Banal or the first Z Gorres instead of being the next Pacquiao. Let them be their own man. It is true that Pacquiao’s effects in Philippine boxing will forever be remembered but it should also be realized that Pacquiao will not be fighting forever. It is about time that Filipinos show their support to the new kids. Pacquiao will be remembered forever as the man who revolutionized Philippine boxing. But we should all remember that it is perfectly fine if fighters do not turn out to be as good as Pacquiao. He is one of a kind.
This article is ultimately not about Manny Pacquiao. It is about giving much-deserved respect for the Filipino fighters who sacrifice their bodies so that we could all have something to be proud off.