A time to reflect for Manny, all of us

SAN FRANCISCO – This is our last column for the year and lest we forget, let me greet everyone a belated Blessed Christmas and Prosperous New Year in advance.

From the Philippine Air Lines flight 104 we took Saturday evening to this traditional Filipino destination, to the moment we landed and our good friend, arnis specialist Jojo de la Fuente picked us up at the airport, to a sports dinner-party of Filipino couples watching the live television broadcast Sunday evening of the National Football League (NFL) regular season game between the San Francisco 49ers (Niners) and the Seattle Sea Hawks in the latter’s home turf, the topic was still Manny Pacquiao’s devastating sixth round knockout loss to Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez two weeks ago.

The Niners were clobbered by their hosts, 42-13 to the disappointment of San Franciscans who had hoped for a victory that would have had the Niners clinch their division title for the second straight year. The Niners have a second chance to win the title two days from now, Dec. 28, when they go up against the Arizona Cardinals in Candlestick Part in Frisco.

Going back to boxing, like most sports observers back home, the consensus among Filipino boxing fans wherever they are is that Pacquiao seems to have been over excited in proving decisively on Dec. 8 that he deserved to win all three earlier encounters with the Mexican “El Dinamita.” Marquez had been proclaiming to anyone willing to listen that he had been robbed of victory in his fights with Pacquiao in 2004, 2008 and 2011. Pacquiao-Marquez 4 certainly proved to be the most decisive of all four encounters with Pacquiao’s stunning loss.

Pundits also talked about Pacquiao’s pre-occupation with a one and a million other concerns aside from boxing. These other activities, which range from politics, to show business, to product endorsements, to preaching as a born-again Christian, proved to be too much for so serious a business as boxing that requires full-time attention. It was such full-time that Marquez gave to boxing in the four or five months that he prepared for his day of redemption.

Among the older and conservative Catholic Filipinos, the view expressed after Mass by a number of ladies after Sunday Mass at St. John Vianney in Walnut Creek was that Pacquiao abandoned his faith that his mother Dionisia raised him up in. They added that Pacquiao fought on Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, but deliberately deviated from his usual practice, no doubt influenced by his Christian pastors as claimed by staunch Catholics, of wearing a rosary when he climbs into the ring, making the sign of the cross before the fight and not attending the usual Saturday morning pre-fight Mass. Instead, Pacquiao opted to attend the Bible service, which definitely showed that he had abandoned his Catholic faith.

The usual speculations about Marquez being allegedly juiced up by performance enhancing drugs (PED’s) was of course discussed, despite the fact that the Mexican had been cleared by the proper authorities after the fight. The fact that Marquez looked so muscular and appeared even stronger at 39 than he was in 2004 (eight years ago at 31) or 2008 (four years earlier at 35) caused amazement and wonderment especially with the presence of Angel Hernandez (or Heredia) of Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery fame. In short, Hernandez’s (Heredia’s) presence did not help at all to douse such speculations.

The wisdom of Pacquiao retiring was of course brought up. After all the man had nothing else to prove: he had done enough for himself, boxing and the country. He has done us proud and reaffirmed our pride and self-confidence among the community of nations, following what Pres. Benigno Aquino III has done: because of his exemplary leadership we are now being taken seriously by other countries and multilateral agencies.

The newest Filipino boxing sensation Nonito Donaire, up and coming fighter Denver Cuello and newly-reinvigorated Brian Viloria all think it’s not yet time for Pacquiao to hang up his gloves, although other boxers think it’s time for Pacquiao to retire.

 Perhaps during this Christmas season, Pacquiao, who will, reportedly be vacationing with his family away from it all in some foreign land, will have, like all of us, time to reflect, meditate and converse with the Almighty in the way that suits Him to discern His will for him and his family.