Pac-Man fights his demon and fights our battle

Graphic thud of a face-first drop on the canvas of MGM Grand, under the swarming bright lights of the mecca of the boxing world was the collective shocking sight some 11 months ago. There on the squared ring, a fallen hero planked motionless, flocked by boxing officials and trainers alike while in the midst of a celebration of a triumphant conquistador who finally exorcised the demon of streak loses to a so-called Mexican butcher. This and all, in the sea of dropped jaws in stillness disbelief, was the scenery that for a momentary cessation, it led us to take a pinch on our skin to check the reality of the unthinkable. One man saw his invincibility faded; the other saw himself conquered his demon. In the most ironical axiom one could put up, our very own national sporting hero Manny Pacquiao met his most devastating lost to date in a fight he has all the command to win it all. And yet, in a twist of event of monstrous proportion, a perfectly timed counterpunch uncorked straight to the chin of the Pac-Man was all it took to put an earmark to this historic Pacquiao-Marquez on the precious page of the boxing lore.

 The lord of KOs got served of its own killer punches as Pacquiao was on the receiving end of a one-punch KO. The indestructible aura of the erstwhile pound-for-pound the best in the world shattered in one solid punch. Juan Manuel Marquez was that deserving perfect foil, the one that the boxing gods antagonized and deprived of all the breaks of the previous battles against Pacquiao, was, on that night of redemption celebrated to the fullest the finest victory of his own storied career. For most boxers, it was a defeat too hard to recover from. For most fans, it was the most painful thing that one can experience—even to a point of shunning the boxing news and tabloids for a while.

Eleven months removed from the tragic blemish of Pacquiao’s career, the boxer that caught everyone’s imagination will try to chastise his own demon. His own emergence from the dark path of what have been the best run of any Asian fighter in the sinful and dazzling horizon of the boxing world. Pacquiao was a relentless fighting machine, one that would bulldoze his way in reckless abandon. A devil-may-care type of fighter who does not shy away from the viciousness of the sport. Perhaps because of this trait of his is what made him to become the face of the boxing world, on such time he was busy piling up the numbers of the greats he put into retirement. On one single night, he was made no-exempt. On one fateful night, his career, too, was at risk of being withdrawn.

Setting up a bout date in Macau, on this weird fight time on November 24, 2013 to appease the time zone of North America for pay-per-view purposes, against the hard-hitting yet easy target Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios is the perfect springboard for Pacquiao. Rios is someone who’s not afraid to slug it out, who can make a perfect dance partner on an explosive tit-for-tat slugfest that could make up for an entertaining bout. The stake is not to be taken lightly, too! A win for Pacquiao could help him reboot a halted boxing career until he gets just enough steam to flirt again for a chance to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. for what could be the greatest boxing match there ever will be. Or, as most of us are possibly thinking, could ultimately force the Filipino King of the Ring to retirement as it shall beckon more than ever that such wonderful run in the boxing history will finally meet its end.

But just like our most utilized cliché in life, the Pac-Man will find a way to reemerge and become relevant again. As someone whose country was ravaged and severely hit by catastrophe of biblical proportion, Manny will become resilient again, will move forward and leave the pain of the past behind him. For all it was worth, Manny knew that he needs to put a smile once more for his countrymen bereft of all the joyous anticipation usually related to Yuletide season. He has that monumental responsibility of putting this country together that notwithstanding political affinity and biased opinion, he has to take over the unity right now being messed-up by the powers-that-be. It would only take Pacquiao some motivations to fight along, as no one in boxing history has ever fought for inside of the ring staking the pride of an entire nation. It has always been a staple side story of each of his fights being dedicated to the people he serves as a politician and the people that he represents as a compatriot. If he could only have that physical fortitude to fight forever to keep a country as divided as the Philippines, I could wish there’s some possibility to that. For that is how Pacquiao meant to each and every Filipino. Transcending every class and gender, he was given that gift to provide the people to believe collectively on just one thing—and that is winning this battle.