Ringside musings

Hmmm, it’s too quiet,” I thought. The stream of people walking in the mall met me with a blank, loopy stare. I stopped at a shop selling beach slippers and finally asked, “Who won (the fight)?” The sales person smirked, “Bradley.”

When Pacquiao loses, the sound of defeat seals all signs of exuberance and merrymaking.

Earlier, I was at the Sunday noontime Mass and the priest couldn’t help but express his delight to see the chapel filled to capacity. “It is delightful that you chose instead to go to Mass over watching the boxing match,” he said. I chuckled but I did say a little prayer for Pacquiao, “Make him be at his finest so he can take home the belt and bring pride to our country and his kababayan.”

Why did he lose? Every Filipino has his own opinion on this. To a non-boxing buff, however, I noticed some unsettling signs:

He was showing off his newfound interest in the holy Bible but could he be so well informed in the word of God to become a preacher or an authority overnight? Many theologians spent years in studying the Bible and still they admit that they cannot be deemed experts in it.

He didn’t come out of his locker room on the appointed time because he wanted to finish the NBA basketball game.

Didn’t he think of the capacity crowd who was waiting in the arena in a rising frenzy to cheer, support and bask in his triumphs, including this present bout? “Oh come on, give him a break. It was just a slight delay and he’s entitled to it being the world-class champ,” said one hanger-on. “The crowd adored him and surely, they can forgive and indulge his capriciousness.” What about those wasted minutes that he took out from his warmup routine to get his muscles and psyche in sync? Has hubris skewed his perception or has success gone up to his head?

His mother has endeared herself to the viewing public for her candid and unrehearsed actuations. But was there any saving grace in turning her religious rites into a teledrama? Her faith in an almighty God should not be wrapped in theatrics for the whole world to watch. Who allowed the cameras inside her house so that her fainting bout could make the afternoon news?

A lesson to remember: Always make your performance greater than the applause.

To watch the replay of the fight was an exercise in exhaustion and vexation too. Why can’t the Media Board take note of the viewers’ frustration over a marathon of advertisements that were longer than the boxing itself?

This boxing fiasco will continue to be the talk of the town but let’s not ignore whatever lessons we can learn from it.

I thought of the Laws of Lifetime Personal Growth that Fr. Dave Concepcion shared with us:

1. “Always make your performance greater than the applause.” Many of us are guilty of ignoring this. We are happy to give a lackluster work or contribution especially if there’s nothing personally to be gained from the exercise.

It is said that if you work on the basis that you’re doing it out of love, you can never go wrong. You do not mind the effort you put in sowing kindness and charity because you are not expecting anything in return. But is it easy to be kind and generous? You need to go deep within the core of your being and find your spirit. Your spirit is the seat of your inner goodness and what is noblest in you. It brings out a generous heart where you give your best and do not count the cost or the inconvenience.

The amazing thing is that for every good deed you do, there is kindness gained, in reciprocity, but you are not after the accolade or the reward.

Be weary of the insidious entrapment of arrogance and power. They can just as quickly shoot you down if you lose your moral ground. 

2. “Always make your gratitude greater than your success.” This is hard to remember when you are riding high, giddy with prominence and success. There doesn’t seem to be an end to money, power and influence, right? Many have fallen into this trap including celebrities and trailblazers. We become proud and arrogant believing that nothing can go wrong and no one can be more powerful than we are.

When you are at the peak of your success, it is difficult to keep your sense of balance and propriety. You forget that all of these blessings come from someone greater than you. Give thanks and be grateful. If you feel that you are being led away from your core, come down to earth. A simple prayer will humble you, “Oh God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small.”

Pacquiao’s defeat hogged the headlines and everyone became a garden variety analyst and critique. “In truth,” said my young nephew, “Pacquiao is not the same fighter anymore. He has grown old and has slowed down. Look how difficult it has become for him to maintain his weight, like other old people. And how could you expect anyone to take one’s training seriously when the wife and the kids were jogging along?”

Ooops. That is a no-brainer. “Vegan vs. Vegan rematch, that is what I think it will be,” says Baker. “And, I am willing