N.B. – This was published in Asian Correspondent (November 16, 1:30 p.m.) where I write a weekly column (Philippine Fantasy).
That he has made boxing history is already a reality. At this point, we only need to ask ourselves: What is the reality of boxing in the Philippine setting?
With his 12th-round technical knockout win against Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto last November 15 (Manila), Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao becomes the only boxer to win championship belts in seven weight divisions – flyweight (112 lb), super bantamweight (122 lb), featherweight (126 lb), super featherweight (130 lb), lightweight (135 lb), light welterweight (140 lb) and welterweight (147 lb).
Since 1997, Pacquiao has won 13 championship belts: the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) Flyweight (1997), World Boxing Council (WBC) World Flyweight (1998), WBC International Super Bantamweight (1999), International Boxing Federation (IBF) World Super Bantamweight (2001), Ring Magazine World Featherweight (2003), WBC International Super Featherweight (2005), WBC World Super Featherweight (2008), Ring Magazine World Super Featherweight (2008), WBC World Lightweight (2008), IBO Light Welterweight (2009), Ring Magazine World Light Welterweight (2009) and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Welterweight (2009).
As regards his 13th belt, his victory over Cotto also makes him the first-ever WBC Diamond Champion. Pacquiao was consequently awarded the WBC Diamond Belt which features “over 600 diamonds, over 100 emeralds, rubies and swarosky precious crystals, all mounted in a golden 18-karat plaque which is also mounted on the green ferrari leather from Italy.”
That Pacquiao chooses to remain humble despite his boxing achievements is commendable. His attitude, however, does not (and probably will not) stop boxing pundits from drawing their own conclusions mostly in his favor.
As expected, the ongoing post-fight analyses focus on how Pacquiao’s achievements compare to that of boxing greats like Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler. Media actually coined an appropriate word for Pacquiao as he was called goat – greatest of all time.
Aside from analyzing Pacquiao’s boxing legacy this early, there is speculation as regards the boxer he should fight next. All eyes are said to be on undefeated American Floyd Mayweather, Jr. who until his retirement in 2007 was the pound-for-pound king, a title now earned by Pacquiao with his convincing victories against marquee boxers like Erik Morales, Oscar dela Hoya and Ricky Hatton.
It is good to know that boxing trainer Angelo Dundee, former heavyweight champion George Foreman and many others who predicted a win by Cotto were proven wrong. Thanks to Pacquiao’s hard work, he gave Filipinos and his other non-Filipino fans a very good reasons to celebrate Christmas this early.
However, as many Pacquiao fans await his next fight, hopefully against Mayweather, it may be appropriate to put into proper context Pacquiao’s victory to the reality that is boxing.
Studies have shown that boxing can be hazardous to one’s health, even if there is no strong evidence to link, for example, amateur boxing to long-term brain injury. Nevertheless, any sport that involves strong blows to the head could be very risky. According to an article about men’s health, “(t)he American Association of Neurological Surgeons say that 90 percent of boxers sustain a brain injury. Boxing may account for fewer deaths than some other sports but the.. boxers suffering brain damage are believed to be much higher than recorded.”
The following paragraph in the said article graphically illustrates the impact of absorbing a punch to the head: “(W)hen a boxer gets a direct blow to the head it is like being hit by a 12-lb padded, wooden mallet travelling at 20 mph!” When Pacquiao attended a post-fight press conference, he reportedly had his head “wrapped in a white bandage after having his ear drained of blood from some of the shots he took from Cotto.”
Pacquiao got the better of Cotto in terms of power punches thrown as he landed 276 out of 560 (49 percent). Nevertheless, Cotto was still able to hit him with 93 out of 300 power punches (31 percent). Notwithstanding the rigorous training Pacquiao had to withstand such power punches, there is only so much that a body can take. Even if it is not yet clear that Muhammad Ali’s Parkinson’s disease was due to the punishment his body had endured as a boxer, the risk of cumulative brain injury remains. This has prompted the British Medical Association to call for a ban on both professional and amateur boxing.
With Pacquiao’s victory comes the re-telling of his rags-to-riches to story. Perhaps the narrative should include how Pacquiao and millions of other Filipinos have been pushed to the point that they would risk life and limb just to provide a better future for their families.
If we all want a good future for Pacquiao, we should also wish him good health. In this context, it is necessary for well-meaning Filipinos to convince him to retire because he should not wait until he gets seriously injured in a sport where he has earned millions of dollars.
Pacquiao has definitely fulfilled his childhood dream of providing a good future for his family. Now is the time for him and the other Filipinos to face the reality: Boxing is a dangerous sport, and the Philippine government’s development policies and program offer very little in making the lives of the poor better.
Underneath Pacquiao’s boxing glory is the story of a Filipino who was deprived of opportunities to eke out a decent living in his own country and had to go overseas and risk his life just so he could send money back home. Why is this situation so familiar to the more than eight million migrant Filipinos?
Yes, Pacquiao is such a gifted athlete and a unique individual, but his story is shared by millions of other Filipinos abroad and the families they left behind.