From the high seas

Ronaldo Banaag sent a letter to The Star aboard MV Soga, a merchant ship, and said he’ll be docking in Manila in September. He identified himself as a Third Mate, a sports fan and a boxing nut.

His letter in part:

"I’ve been reading your column ‘A Sporting Chance’ for years and watching you on sports telecasts when I’m in the Philippines. Honestly, I choose you as one of the best sportswriters and commentators of all time.

"I’d like to know your opinion and your choices of the top 15 fighters, pound for pound, in the world today. Actually, I have no idea of the great featherweight champions of yesteryear. So who are your choices as the top 10 greatest featherweights of all time? Is Pacquiao in your list?

"I get excited every time Pacquiao fights and I’m very proud we have a great boxer like Pacquiao. I hope he’ll fight at least four times a year while he’s still young. I believe he can beat and knock out the likes of Morales, Marquez, Ayala, Larios and any of the superfeatherweight champions. I know it’s not that feasible considering their weight differences but how I’d love to see him in a dream fight against Freitas or Mayweather.

"But first things first, he must take care of the four boxers I noted earlier. Can you please give me an idea where we can purchase videos of some of the great fights lately. I missed many due to the nature of my work."

Ronaldo sent his letter care of Inch Cape Shipping Services, Sentry Pacific Design Center, 560 North Nimitz Highway, Suite 103, Honolulu, Hawaii.

My reply:

Thanks for your kind words, Ronaldo. As regards my picks of the top 15 fighters, pound for pound, today, here they are: Bernard Hopkins, Roy Jones, Oscar de la Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Winky Wright, Manny Pacquiao, Kostya Tszyu, Erik Morales, Acelino Freitas, James Toney, Chris Byrd, Shane Mosley, Cory Spinks, Pongsaklek Wonjongkam and Jorge Arce. It’s tough to choose the best 15 in all 17 weight divisions because champions come and go, what with the exceptional talent in the ranks.

It’s difficult for me to choose the top 10 greatest featherweights of all time because I never got to watch the legends in the pre-war area. But if you ask me to pick from among the featherweights in the modern era, my top 10 would be Salvador Sanchez, Alexis Arguello, Vicente Saldivar, Sugar Ramos, Eusebio Pedroza, Marco Antonio Barrera, Eder Jofre, Azumah Nelson, Bobby Chacon and Ruben Olivares.

Pacquiao has fought only twice as a featherweight. In both bouts, he was decked, got up and won by knockout. If he wrests the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation crowns from Juan Manuel Marquez this weekend, Pacquiao will earn the right to break into the top 10 best featherweights of all-time, possibly dislodging Chacon.

As for videos of great fights, I suggest you contact Viva Sports which has produced an excellent compilation of Pacquiao’s shiningest moments as a pro.

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James de la Rosa of [email protected] wrote:

"I’m an avid fan of the NBA and I’ve been collecting NBA jerseys for the past two to three years. My problem is I can’t seem to find a Nike outlet here in the Philippines that sells the Nike NBA swingman jerseys. That’s why I’ve settled for brands like Reebok (which has low quality screen printed replicas) NBA apparel (made in China) and the old Champion brand. I’m just curious why Nike Philippines isn’t distributing swingman jerseys? I can’t order from the US because it costs too much, $70 for the jersey alone. I have 13 more NBA team jerseys which I don’t have and I want it all to be Nike plus one more next year for the Charlotte Bobcats. Can somebody from Nike Philippines help me?"

Unless I’m mistaken, all NBA jerseys are now produced by Reebok. The high-priced jerseys are like the real thing with embroidered logos and in mesh material. The low-priced jerseys use screen printed logos. Nike and other brands are licensed to produce T-shirts and other apparel using specific NBA team logos. Whatever the brand, the NBA is making sure the quality of the league’s merchandise in the market is top-class. Olympic Village sells NBA replica jerseys and they’re of good quality.

Ronald of [email protected] said: "For the past five years in an import-reinforced conference, no team has lost a game to an import-less team. Now, Purefoods has the distinction of breaking the record. Let’s bring back the Purefoods pride. To my fellow supporters, let’s have constructive criticism. Let’s not be passive supporters. We are joked when Purefoods wins but how often is that?"

The Hot Dogs are slumping primarily because of injuries–starting with original import Lenny Cooke. Things would’ve been a lot different for Purefoods if Cookie stayed healthy and Jun Limpot, Eddie Laure, Rey Evangelista and many more didn’t get hurt along the way.

Coach Ryan Gregorio isn’t giving up. The Hot Dogs are on a six-game slide but with new import Tyrone Washington slowly getting back in shape, expect a reversal of fortunes sooner than later.