[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]
[av_heading heading=’The farewell tour’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
Bobby Motus
[/av_heading]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=’custom’ color=’#0a0a0a’]
Saturday, January 21, 2017
[/av_textblock]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=’custom’ color=’#0a0a0a’]
BOXING promoter Bob Arum has planned a four-fight, farewell tour for Sen. Manny Pacquiao to culminate in November with maybe a Terrence Crawford showdown. The planned prize-fighting expedition could bring PacMan to Australia, the Middle East, probably England, with the last match in the US. He can box in the Falkland Islands for all the cares in the world as I would have liked him retired safe, healthy and drowning in abundance three years ago.
Earlier, the good senator asked the Department of Tourism for P3 billion to help fund his final (?) fight come November in one of the 7,101 islands of the country with Juan Manuel Marquez as his personal choice. It’s obvious that he wants redemption from Marquez’ 6th round goodnight right hook that came out of nowhere on that fateful December of 2012.
Marquez is comfortably retired and hasn’t fought for more than two years. He has no reason to fight PacMan for the fifth time. For the “Dinamita”, the fourth fight was the sweetest and sane logic dictates there’s no point in another ring appearance. Considering the conditions of both fighters, PacMan will have dynamite for breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight snacks if Marquez does get lured. Besides, he will be 44-years old by November, six years older than PacMan.
Thankfully, DOT secretary Wanda Corazon Teo denied the senator’s request saying the fight is “unsellable”. Ouch! Truth really does hurt and it stings. Goodness freaking gracious, three billion pesos can go a long way in easing the lives of the service-deprived citizens of this Tokhang famous nation.
As chairman of the Senate committee on public works, PacMan with 3 billion pesos can provide 200 kilometers of concrete farm-to-market roads at approximately P15 million per kilometer. It can also help fund the planned Panay-Guimaras-Negros-Cebu Bridge. Likewise as chair of the committee on sports, 200 multi-purpose gymnasiums that can accommodate 5,000 people can be built. PacMan sits as the vice chair on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement and with P3 billion, it can give 12,000 families roofs above their heads with low-cost houses at P250 thousand each.
As a member of the committee on national defense and security, it can buy about 1,500 police vehicles and high-tech equipment for Tokhang-related operations as well as about 400 fire trucks or 2,000 ambulances. PacMan, with P3 billion can sponsor for the construction of 150 five-classroom buildings as members of the education committee. He can put to good use his membership with the agriculture and food committee by providing 1,200,000 sacks of rice that will benefit an equal number of families.
Think of all the good that three billion pesos can deliver to the Filipino masses instead of stuffing some more with riches the already overflowing pockets of the obscenely affluent. PacMan has obviously veered from the carelessly intense Pacquiao of old and with an undeniable decline in marketability, this projected world tour is nothing more than a futures trading, collecting investment and retirement funds.
Let’s cut the bullcrap on fighting “para sa bayan”. This is prize-fighting in the strictest form, literally and figuratively. It’s “para sa bulsa” already.
The upcoming April match with Australian Jeff Horn is not PacMan worthy, regardless if our hero is pushing forty. He could have diminished from his prime but he’s still one of the best pound-for-pound boxers around. Yes, Horn is undefeated but the relatively unknown former school teacher is in for a thorough boxing lesson from the sport’s legend.
PacMan will have at least two more Horn-level fighters to complete his farewell tour. I won’t be surprised if preferred punching bag Tim Bradley resurrects and joins the excursion. We’re getting ourselves trapped in this boxing drama. I will only believe in PacMan’s retirement if Arum won’t be issuing any PacMan-related statements by year’s end.
The sporting world in general and the LA Lakers in particular were held hostage by Kobe Bryant’s farewell season. He could have taken off his signature Nikes as early as two seasons ago but Lakers management were in deep gratitude of his service that they kept up with Kobe even if his presence was detrimental to the team.
Arum is giving us the same Kobe scenario with PacMan as the willing pawn. Boxing’s getting to be boring but as long as the money comes in, let the bell ring and the fight, or farce, begin and yes, let peace reign on our streets, courtesy of PacMan, for a few blissful hours./PN
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]
