the people's champ

Do you remember little pebble when Mommy took you to watch the Pacquiao vs. Bradley fight and Mommy became very upset after because Pacquiao lost his WBO welterweight title? Well almost two weeks after, a five-person panel formed by the WBO came up with a review saying that it was Pacquiao who won and not Bradley.  Bradley, however, gets to keep the title and the belt.

While a lot of people say this is Pacquiao’s vindication, Mommy thinks there was really no need to form such panel.  No one really believed Bradley won.  Moreover, Pacquiao has won 8 titles in different weight divisions. Nobody has achieved this in boxing history. He may eventually fail to defend these titles, after all he is 33 years old and it will become tougher for him to go against athletes in their 20s like Bradley, but unless somebody manages to win 8 or more than 8 titles, Pacquiao’s reign in the ring continues.

And here’s what the Nevada State Athletic Commission can never take away from Pacquiao and the Filipino people: Pacquiao’s shining example that no matter how poor a person is, by hard work, determination, and taking timely advantage of opportunities that comes one’s way, one can rise from poverty and make his mark in this world.  Dear little pebble, Pacquiao came from a family who had not enough to eat and yet he managed to become a world class athlete, educate himself, and get himself elected to Congress. His interests have branched out to community service, entertainment, and even religion. Although some people may think Pacquiao is spreading himself too thin, Mommy thinks that Pacquiao is just showing to himself and to everyone else, that poverty is not a hindrance to success.

There is another important thing that Pacquiao has shown the Filipino people: They are capable of being united.

Philippine history is marked by divisiveness.  We have Filipinos telling against Filipinos during the Spanish colonial period, Japanese occupation, and during the Fil-American War. Present-day politics is more about private and self-serving interests rather than public service. Yet, whenever Pacquaio has a bout in faraway Nevada, there’s a hush which permeates the streets and highways of the Philippine archipelago, Filipinos dispersed far and wide abroad gather in pubs, and in one voice, cheer for their hero.

This is why, little pebble, Manny Pacquiao is and always will be, the People’s Champ. We don’t need a five-person WBO panel to tell us that.