Boxing is business

UNLIKE in the olden days, boxing today is all about business. In his heyday, Gabriel “Flash” Elorde won several fights here and abroad but he never made it to the very rich status of the present crop of boxers like Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao.

In the more recent fight, while he was magnanimous in accepting defeat following the split decision in favor of Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley by the three judges that promoter Bob Arum described as the “three blind mice,” Pacquiao insists that he won it.

Funny as it may seem, but Bradley could not believe that he won over Pacman. Worse, he appeared badly beaten, as he was in a wheelchair for a press conference while Pacman came out smiling and in high spirits.

Pacman has reason to smile even if he lost the fight because he won a hefty prize to the tune of P50 million. Bradley appeared forlorn because Pacman beat him up but he did not get as much as Pacquiao received.

In recent years, boxing has become good business. Note that even before the fight, it was already announced that there will be a rematch, whoever wins between Pacman and Bradley. There was this analysis that had Pacman won, a rematch would have been worthless.

Although Arum said there will be no rematch until after an investigation is conducted by the Nevada attorney general (which will not happen), I still see this as another Arum ploy.

Pacman’s fans booed the split decision that handed the WBO world welterweight title to Bradley. The controversy became more pronounced when HBO’s resident unofficial judge, Harold Lederman, had Pacman winning 11 out of 12 rounds.

Juan Manuel Marquez, who lost to Pacman in a controversial majority decision last November 2011, could only commiserate with his loss, but with a gripe. “I think Pacquiao won. It doesn’t make me happy, but he now knows how I felt,” said Marquez.

The other speculation is that Pacman could not win against an American boy like Bradley in American soil. The only consolation for Pacman’s fans in the Philippines is that Bradley was badly beaten.

But was Pacquiao giving some hints that he is getting old for the job? “I hope you’re not dismayed or discouraged. I can fight. I can still fight,” Pacman said during a press conference, addressing not only the Filipinos in the US but also the entire Filipino nation.

Was Arum honest in saying “this isn’t about a close decision, this is absurd and ridiculous and everyone involved in boxing should be ashamed.” Indeed, it is the boxing industry that got the black eye for that unpopular decision.

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After the removal of chief justice Renato Corona through impeachment, the crab mentality of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) resurfaced. LCP is considering filing an appeal with the Supreme Court for the reversal of its decision in the case of the 16 cities.

It would be too late in the day for the LCP to file a motion for reconsideration on the decision of the SC, which voted 7-6 to dismiss LCP’s appeal to reverse the court’s Feb. 15, 2011 decision upholding the creation of the new cities.

The officers of LCP are just too greedy since they don’t want that their city’s share of the internal revenue allotment (IRA) reduced. Can’t the LCP’s officers be more sensitive? Rep. Tomas Osmeña, when he was mayor of Cebu City, even shared the city’s meager resources in his Big Brother program.

If the Big Brother program of Osmeña reached the nooks and crannies of the country without him asking for something in return, there is more reason for LCP president Oscar Rodriguez to let the issue die a natural death after the SC finally closed the issue. He should give the new cities the chance to grow.

(elespinoza53@yahoo.com)