Not a single soul so far has said Manny Pacquiao should not stop fighting. Ten out of 10 said it’s time for Pacquiao to retire. Upps! Only the 11th interviewee, Valentin Dakuykoy (remember him?), dissented.
“Pacquiao can still fight,” VD said. “Didn’t he last 12 rounds? Without even getting knocked down?”
Ummm.
VD continued: “Look, Pacquiao suffered leg cramps in the second round. Yet, he was able to finish the fight on his feet at the final bell against Ugas (Yordenis).”
Was Pacquiao in prosthetics? That’s why he lasted the distance?
You buy VD’s line and you buy a bent logic.
Anyway, here’s Ed “EdPam” Pamintuan, the former five-term mayor of Angeles City who is presently chairman of the Clark Development Corp., on Pacquiao’s losing battle against Ugas.
“For the first time in my Pacman boxing life, I didn’t bother to watch his ‘last’ fight because I knew he would be clobbered by whoever was his opponent.
“My wife was surprised to see me watching Neflix’s ‘Shawshank Redemption’ instead.
“She asked: ‘Bakit sweet? Galit ka kay Pacquiao?’
“I told her: ‘Pacquiao should know when to stop.’
“Seemingly, Pacquiao is no different from George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, who continued fighting when it was really time for them to retire.
“The really great boxers like Rocky Marciano hung their gloves while they were still on top...
“Cassius Clay aka Muhammad Ali met his fate when his hands started shaking—involuntarily!
“Why wouldn’t he suffer that dreaded disease called Parkinson’s Disease?
“For virtually the entirety of his boxing life—from being an Olympic gold medalist at age 19 up to his retirement day as a fading pro before he turned 40—I learned that he absorbed more than 200,000 hits in his body and head. Cruel.
“To get back to Pacquiao, my final take: Naaawa ako sa ating Pambansang Kamao! Our hero...”
Back in the first Pacquiao-Morales fight in 2005, I watched that bout at the house of Mayor EdPam.
We enjoyed that classic clash, won on mere points by Morales, as much as our drinks, with Pampanga’s famed sisig as our pulutan prepared by EdPam’s comely wife. World class. Not even the late Aleng Lucing’s sisig fare by the Angeles City railway could beat the sisig delicacy of the mayor’s sweetheart.
Ah, the good ‘ol days.