Al Mendoza
All Write

THERE is another Pacquiao other than Manny. Bobby is his name.

Like Manny, Bobby is also a boxer.

Like Manny, Bobby also fights for money.

Manny and Bobby are biological brothers.

The commonalities end there.

Manny is the best in the business.

Bobby is the worst in the business.

Manny is the richest in the business.

Bobby is among the poorest in the business.

Manny is pure talent and skill.

Bobby is a good-for-nothing animal of the mitts.

But because he is a Pacquiao, Bobby is a natural bait for, sadly, baloney bouts.

Because he is a Pacquiao, Bobby is a perfect recipe for disaster.

A Canadian named Michael Koncz has pounced on that.

Koncz got into the Pacquiao Team this way: He had befriended Bob Arum after helping Bob wean Pacman away from Oscar De La Hoya.

Unable to penetrate the stonewall defense of Pacman’s security cordon, Koncz gave Bobby the eye.

Did I not say Bobby is the perfect bait, the recipe, for disaster?

Before that, Koncz stole Diosdado Gabi from Manny Piñol. That drew a legal suit from Piñol, the fiery, undefeated, political maverick from North Cotabato.

Piñol forgave Gabi after Gabi had issued a public apology.

I wonder if Manny Pacquiao had forgiven Koncz after Koncz had thrown Bobby to a virtual lion’s den a while back—not once but twice.

First, a bloated Bobby got disqualified for reporting overweight in a fight put up for him by Koncz.

Second, Koncz pitted a hapless Bobby against the undefeated knockout artist Urbano Antillon.

“Bobby, you beat Antillon and you get $1 million in your next fight,” Koncz had reportedly told Bobby.

Boom! Bobby got kayoed in Round 1.

The world is full of trickery.

Alas, even the magic of a Pacquiao name isn’t immune to it.

(alsol47@yahoo.com)