The fans have grown quiet

 In case you have not noticed, there seems to be far less excitement and anticipation surrounding Manny Pacquiao’s upcoming fight with unbeaten American Timothy Bradley. There are far more people engrossed right now in the East and West Conference Finals of the NBA.

 Mine is pure conjecture, of course. But I would surmise that television PPV sales, large venue (theatres and gymnasiums) sales, as well as eat-and-watch and drink-and-watch reservations are not what they used to be in other Manny fights.

 Without a doubt, this is partly due to Manny’s opponent Bradley. Bradley never lost in 29 fights although he figured in one no-contest. But of his 28 victories, only 12 were abbreviated wins. To fight fans, that can only mean he lacks real punching power.

 Not that a boxer has to knock the daylights out of an opponent to make a fight exciting. But when you are fighting the most exciting boxer in the world today, fight fans expect a little more bodies hitting the canvass than usual.

 Besides, a perfect record can be deceiving. As Manny Pacquiao himself said in describing the more fearsome record of the late Venezuelan boxer Edwin Valero, who won all of his 27 fights by knockout — “maybe all he fought were tricycle drivers.”

 It has to be conceded that fight records do not always paint a true picture of a boxer. In fact in the Philippines, and including our very own Cebu, there are suspicions (mine included) that fighters are sometimes fed patsies just to shore up records.

 Records, regardless of their truthfulness, are among the main considerations in striking up lucrative fight deals, especially abroad, and more so at this time when Filipinos make up one of only three nationalities lording it over boxing, the other two being Americans and Mexicans.

 Pacquiao, however, has a record that is remarkable in many respects — whether it is about his romp up through the divisions, the boxers he disposed of in a variety of ways as he leapfrogged from virtual anonymity to superstardom, and the kind of money he made in the process.

 There is no lack of credibility in the record of Manny for it even highlights his continued failure to win convincingly over the one person who ever gave him a difficult time in all the three times they fought — Juan Manuel Marquez.

 Even without the fight everyone wants ever happening — against Floyd Mayweather Jr. — the record of Manny will remain enviable for a very long long time. And if a Mayweather entry will never be recorded there, at least the question mark appears in Mayweather’s book as well.

 So what is it really that is holding back the excitement and anticipation in the coming fight of Manny against Bradley (Saturday night in Las Vegas, Sunday morning in the Philippines)? I think it has to do with the Manny Pacquiao who is not a boxer.

 No one is begrudging Manny for his decision to actively take up the Bible. Matters of faith are individual decisions that are best left to the persons making them. That they must be respected is not subject to question.

 But while religion is a very personal thing, Manny is a very public figure with a very public following, a following that is attracted to him on account of his boxing prowess and not because they share his religious transformation.

 Of course, most of Manny’s fans are Catholics and share his religious beliefs. But for their religious needs, they know perfectly well whom to turn to. And it is not to Manny. They turn to Manny to be entertained by his boxing skills, not to reflect on their sinful lives.

The problem is Manny doesn’t realize this. He thinks his fans remain so enraptured with him they will just put up with anything he does outside boxing. Those close to Manny should tell him a growing number of fans now see more of Dionisia in him than the boxer they used to know.