All about heart

Former World Boxing Council (WBC) secretary-general and Philippine Basketball Association commissioner Rudy Salud has a heart condition. He is resting at home, recovering from a recent seven-hour surgery where doctors implanted a defibrillator to regulate his heartbeat.

While his heart may not be working as efficiently as it used to, there’s no question it’s full of love and care for others. That’s always been Salud’s real heart condition-nobody can deny he’s all heart.

The other day, I visited Salud at his home in Loyola Grand Villas. He’s on the road to recovery but it will take three months for his system to adjust to the machine that’s in his body. During the difficult adjustment period, he’s been advised to watch his diet.

Salud said salt is taboo because it retains water in the body and could create a drowning sensation. His staples are oatmeal and lots of fruits. His dear friend, former Sen. Ramon Revilla, sent a basket of chicos recently and Salud feasts on one or two at a time. What’s remarkable, said Salud, is chicos are not yet in season so Sen. Revilla’s delivery was completely unexpected. He also enjoys mangoes and bananas.

Salud’s guardian angel, his wife Pampin, watches over him and prays for God’s protection. Another guardian angel, his son Dr. Arnold, makes sure he’s physically stable. Then there is his trusted lieutenant George Alcantara who is always only an arm’s length away.

The hand of God is evident in the way Salud has so far survived a situation where his heart isn’t able to pump at full capacity. The defibrillator that is now in his body was imported from the US via Singapore and made by a medical company called St. Jude.

Coincidentally, Salud has been a St. Jude devotee for years.

In fact, when the St. Jude church near Malacañang was being renovated, Salud would slip a check in an envelope every Thursday during his weekly visit and mark it "from a devotee."

As the weeks went by, Salud’s contributions added up to a hefty sum. And when the renovation was finished, Salud was included in a short list of sponsors the priests named in a plaque of recognition. Salud had never meant to be known but since the checks were in his name, the anonymous "devotee" was identified.

It was also during his recovery when he formalized his donation of five hectares of land in Montalban, Rizal, for Gawad Kalinga through the parish priest at Loyola Heights. The priest told Salud he still had a lot of work to do for poor people before God calls him to heaven.

Speaking about heart, Salud praised WBC lightflyweight champion Brian Viloria’s display of courage in outpointing tough Mexican challenger Jose Antonio Aguirre in Las Vegas last Feb. 18.

"I’m definitely a Viloria fan," said Salud who watched the fight on TV. "I thought he looked rusty. Remember that he went only one round with (Eric) Ortiz to win the title last September. I don’t think it was a case of being overtrained. Then I found out he fractured his right hand in the early rounds. Despite all the handicaps, Viloria won convincingly."

Salud said if Viloria faces World Boxing Organization minimumweight champion Ivan Calderon, the Hawaiian Punch will win by knockout. "Calderon is shifty but Viloria will cut him off," said Salud. "He’s too strong for Caledron."

Jorge Arce of Mexico would be a tougher opponent. "Viloria versus Arce will be a heckuva fight because they both like to mix it up," continued Salud.

Salud gave high marks to Manny Pacquiao for his TV commentary of the Viloria-Aguirre fight.

"Manny’s very intelligent and it showed in his comments," said Salud. "He pointed out how Viloria should use more head movement and stay away from the ropes to bring Aguirre to the middle of the ring. He talked about how important focus was."

As for Pacquiao, Salud said he is also a big fan. "I knew Manny would beat (Erik) Morales in the rematch because he was prepared to fight," added Salud. "I convinced a friend of mine to bet on Manny and he won $80,000."

Salud bought 16 tickets for his family and friends to watch the Pacquiao-Morales rematch at the Rockwell theater.

"I was so excited that the next day, I began to get chest pains," said Salud. "There’s no more exciting fighter today than Manny. The recent fights on TV like Vargas versus Mosley aren’t nearly as exciting."

Salud said Pacquiao’s next opponent Oscar Larios is tailor-made for him. "It will be a great match because both come to fight," said Salud. "Larios is not hard to hit because he charges in."

Salud said Mandaue City’s Rodel Mayol should be the next Filipino world champion. He’s slated to face WBC minimumweight titlist Eagle Kyowa.

"(Z) Gorres is probably the most skilled Filipino fighter today and he beat Mayol only once in four fights when they were amateurs," said Salud. "And Gorres’ win was even controversial. For Mayol to beat Gorres thrice in four amateur fights means he’s exceptional."

Salud said Gorres, whom he used to manage, has to fight with more heart to get ahead. "He’s the best Filipino boxer out there," said Salud. "But he doesn’t throw full impact on his punch because he pulls back right after he attacks, expecting a counter."

A fighter with a big heart is Rey (Boom Boom) Bautista, said Salud.

"I heard Bautista’s been floored in sparring and he was down in his last fight against (Gerardo) Espinoza," said Salud. "That shouldn’t be a problem. Remember that Manny was knocked out by (Rustico) Torrecampo and floored by Nedal (Hussein) and Serik (Yeshmangbetov). But he’s matured and become stronger. Boom Boom is only 19. He’ll learn from his knockdowns."

And when you talk about fighters with heart, there’s no more credible authority on the topic than the man with the biggest heart of all-Rudy Salud who, by the way, speaks always from the heart. Let’s all pray for his speedy recovery.