Thanks to Reto Klauser, area general manager of Shangri-La Hotels in the Philippines, I viewed (but did not have to pay for) the Pacquiao-Bradley fight at the Makati Shangri-La (and enjoyed a lavish buffet to boot!). The live HBO feed from Las Vegas was annotated by two Americans who seemed knowledgeable about the ways of boxing. In their round by round commentary, they gave the first few rounds to Bradley, the middle rounds to Pacquiao and declared the final rounds a toss-up. They thought that the fight was too close to call (although HBO’s resident judge, Harold Lederman, eventually scored it 119-109 for Pacquiao). By and large, I surmised that the audience agreed with their assessment. And that is why when the split decision in favor of Bradley was announced, there was a general atmosphere of sadness but not of anger. Even Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes who was watching as well did not seem inordinately perturbed and think that Pacquiao was “na-Comelec.”
But outside, particularly in cyberspace, the mood was different. There was genuine outrage with the decision. Armchair analysts were again out in full force. Many international sports writers and boxing aficionados chimed in with their barrage of criticisms. “One of boxing’s great robberies,” “a black eye for the entire sport,” “unfathomable and incomprehensible” were but some of the phrases and adjectives used to describe the decision.
The sentiment was so bad that Paddy Power, Ireland’s largest betting site, refunded its bettors in what it calls a “justice pay out.” So if you placed a bet on Manny to win the fight outright or on points, the money was returned to your account. “We hear you,” Paddy Power told its disgruntled customers.
Even the CompuBox electronic system showed that while Bradley threw more punches than Manny (839-751), the latter was able to land more punches (253 to 159) including power punches (190 to 108).
Equally interesting were the comments of Senate majority leader Vicente Sotto. “Eh kasi naman ang daming nagpapa-uto. Panahon pa ni Marciano, laging may say ang mga promoter in the outcome.” Sotto sensed something was wrong when he found out from his Las Vegas sources that many placed bets at the last minute in favor of Bradley. Albay Governor Joey Salceda echoed the observation reportedly saying that “a Las Vegas mafia manipulated the decision.” Sotto calls for automation of boxing bouts to do away with human intervention and error although he thinks that boxing promoters will oppose this as they will no longer have a say in the fixing of the results.
On the flip side, there were those who thought that Manny’s added weight slowed him down (and to think that Bradley was the lightest challenger he faced in the last seven years). Some said he may have been overconfident and lacked focus because of his multifarious activities outside the boxing arena. Still others commented that his hunger to win and killer instinct were gone with some speculating that his new found religious fervor may have softened him up. Finally there were those who saw the decision as a comeuppance for his controversial win against Juan Manuel Marquez.
Amidst this sordid situation, the US Senate through Pacquiao endorsee, Nevada Senator Harry Reid, is looking to conduct an investigation in aid of legislation. The World Boxing Organization is reportedly conducting an inquiry as well.
But regardless of the outcomes of these investigations perhaps P-Noy summed it up best when he said that the defeat can actually lead Manny to greater heights. He still has time to prove his detractors wrong by making his fists do the talking. Meanwhile, promoter Bob Arum hums happily along.
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Wrong Song: American Idol first runner up Jessica Sanchez sang the national anthem masterfully — the American national anthem. I hope she sings the Lupang Hinirang soon although she apparently has to learn to speak Filipino first.
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Wise words: Listening to 87-year-old former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad at the Asia Society dinner last Sunday and reading about his remarks the day after during a lecture delivered at the University of Santo Tomas, let me highlight some of his more quotable quotes:
On Democracy: “When people think only of the freedoms of democracy and know nothing of the implied responsibilities, democracy will not bring the goodness that it promises. Instead it will result only in instability and instability will not permit development to take place and the people to enjoy the benefits of freedom and the rights that democracy promises. Democracy works only when the people understand the limitations of democracy.”
On Values and Freedom: “All the things that we used to value are being questioned, scrutinized, and, in many cases rejected, to be replaced by what is called freedom, freedom which is enjoyed by some at the expense of others, often at the expense of the community as a whole.”
“In a state of violence and conflict, one cannot develop. Too much expression of freedom without thinking about the limits (or) without thinking about responsibility.. is dangerous. If you cannot manage democracy effectively, you cannot reap the dividends.”
On industrialization and foreign investment: “Industrialization is important because agriculture could not create enough jobs for the growing population. At a time when newly-independent countries were nationalizing foreign-owned industries and businesses, we decided to invite foreigners, including the former colonial masters to come back and invest in industries in Malaysia. To do so we decided to be friendly towards foreign investors. This was not about social friendliness, this was about changes in our nationalistic policies and doing this through laws which gave special treatment and tax incentives to foreign investors.”
On former President Marcos: “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is a truism.” “The more corrupt the leader, the more he wants to stay. Look what happens when you choose the wrong people. Marcos started well but the power got to his head.”
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Greetings: Birth anniversary best wishes to Avon’s Carla Enage Cruz.
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“A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.” — Jack Dempsey
E-mail: deanbautista@yahoo.com