A congessman from Cagayan de Oro City, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, has challenged Eric Buhain, the Philippine Games and Amusements Board chairman, to cancel the boxing license of Filipino champion Manny Pacquiao.
Rodriguez said this is to protect Pacquiao from what he thinks is certain harm in the hands of Mexican-American Oscar dela Hoya, the former 10-time world champion in six different weight classes, whom the Filipino boxing icon is fighting in a non-title bout in December.
Rodriguez said the fight is all about money. I cannot agree with the Mindanao legislator more. In fact I have more to say against the fight than Rodriguez probably could. Still I would stop short of joining him in calling for Pacquiao to be stripped of his license.
Pacquiao is not a baby anymore. I am pretty sure he knows what he is doing. What he may not be able to see are the consequences of his actions. But that is his own lookout. Just because we love him does not give us any authority to meddle with his decisions.
Pacquiao is not wanting in advice. In fact, if all 89 million Filipinos were given the chance to have their say on anything remotely associated with the life of Pacquiao, I am pretty sure the Philippines will grind to a halt in one collective national banter.
But just as we eventually let go of our children, so we must eventually let Pacquiao face his own demons and angels. We can only go along with him in solidarity with his pursuits in the ring. We cannot fight his fights for him.
But I admire the concern of Rodriguez for Pacquiao. I admit I myself have been trying to find some means by which I can be persuasive enough to dissuade Pacquiao. But as I said earlier, I am just one of many millions pretending to know Pacquiao more than he himself does.
Even if it is just for the money — it is in fact just for the money, lots and lots of it — it is still Pacquiao, at the end of the day, who will have to decide whether or not to go on with the fight.
The concern of Rodriguez is centered on one indubitable fact, that dela Hoya is at least naturally four weight classes bigger than Pacquiao. Even if the contract stipulates that they meet at what they call as a “catch weight” of 147 pounds, it is still a mismatch in size.
I focus on “size” because everything else — age, speed, strength, stamina, etc — are subjective. I focus on “size” because it is only size that really matters in boxing. This is precisely the reason why “weight” is a sacred and inviolable requirement in the sport.
It is only “weight” that is nailed down with the strictest of impositions. Discrepancies in all the other factors can be accepted, even glossed over, provided the weight requirement is stringently met.
Boxing is a very dangerous and unpredictable sport. Maybe it is the unpredictability that makes it so dangerous. All it takes is one unexpected blow to change the complexion of a fight, or alter the course of a career.
A single punch can break a jaw or blow the daylights from the eye. A shot that one boxer can take repeatedly to the head can send another to a coma and, possibly, death. And while we do not wish such ill to fall on our Pacquiao, they are concerns valid enough to worry us.
And more especially when our boy is climbing up the ring at a clear disadvantage in the one requirement that only matters — size, as determined by weight. Let us not be deluded by the catch weight because that is precisely what it is, a catch.
The Filipino in me forces me to believe Pacquiao will win. But I also happen to believe he is tempting fate too much on this one. Somewhere in there could be lurking Murphy’s Law, that “If anything can go wrong, it will, at the worst possible place, at the worst possible time.”