Father Time and Mother Calendar

THE latest brouhaha over Manny Pacquiao’s shocking defeat in the hands of Timothy Bradley is not uncommon in the world of boxing. It’s not the first. Nor will it be the last. Sure, as Filipinos we are all collectively sad about his loss. Who wouldn’t, when our only source of national pride has been taken away? But when all the uproar has died down and reality had already settled in our consciousness, we will come to accept that this debacle is the same sad fate of boxers who continue to fight when they reach the age of 30 and above.

In accounting and finance, they call it the “law of diminishing return.” In boxing parlance, they simply call it as “time-to-hang-up-your-gloves.” Father Time and Mother Calendar will eventually catch up with every champion no matter how great he was.

Pugilistic history is replete with sad stories of champions who tried to fight way past their primes, believing that they still have it. Look at “The Greatest” Muhammad Ali, he too tried to fight way into his 30s. We all know what he suffered at the “gloves” of Ken Norton, Leon Spinks, and Larry Holmes.

At the height of his prowess, our own Gabriel “Flash” Elorde was invincible too. But he committed the same folly that he too could beat Father Time and Mother Calendar. In the end, “The Flash” was a mere shadow of himself of himself. If Manny will succumb to this mindset, he too will follow in the footsteps of Muhammad Ali, Flash Elorde, and many more along “Has-Been Road.”

I am no boxing pundit. Why I did not even watch the match on live TV. But curiosity made me watch the replay on cable TV later in the evening with American commentators doing the blow-by-blow coverage. All in all, to my layman’s observation it dawned upon me that the bout was not what Timothy
Bradley failed to do but what Manny Pacquiao failed to do.

We have gotten so used to Manny knocking out his challengers in convincing fashion that we just cannot accept that he got beaten by the young upstart. The sooner we accept reality, then the sooner we can move on. If there is really one winner either way, it’s got to be Bob Arum. He is after all the promoter of both Pacquiao and Bradley. Boxing is big business in the Sin Capital of the World, you know.

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Lack of focus is one of the main reasons why, others claim, our champ lost the fight. Aside from being the “Pound for Pound King,” he’s a politician, a showbiz personality, a game show host, a concert artist, a product endorser, and what have you. Why he is also a pastor, a preacher and a Man of Faith.

When he is in public he makes it a point to be seen in the company of preachers, pastors, and Men of the Cloth of all religious denominations. At times he is seen attending prayer meetings officiated by ministers of other religious sects. Sometimes he is seen attending Roman Catholic rites. Don’t get me wrong. The heathen that I am, I am the least to pass judgment on the kind of company that Manny now keeps. What difference does it make? Be it a Catholic priest, a Protestant Minister or a Born-again
Preacher Manny wants to keep—we all have the same Redeemer and Creator in the first place. In fact, most of us now observe ecumenism, don’t we?

So what does that make our “Pound-for-Pound King? May be we can call him a Protholic. Or how about a Catholtante? Either way, if this what it will take to unify this fragmented country of ours then why not?