Fighting spirit
Fighting spirit
Posted 11:42pm (Mla time) Mar 21, 2005
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A12 of the March 22, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANNY Pacquiao fought a good fight, but he lost to a taller, smarter, more experienced boxer. Still he deserves our applause for his courage and fighting heart. He gave the fight his all, but it was not enough to defeat Erik Morales, much less to knock him down.
People will be talking about the slambang bout in the next few days. What if Pacquiao had not suffered a cut on his right eyebrow, the result of a headbutt (which was not seen by the referee)? Would he have seen better and landed more telling blows on Morales? What if he had been allowed to use his favorite brand of boxing gloves? Would his blows have been more effective?
Boxing aficionados will be discussing many "what ifs," but the fact is that Pacquiao himself conceded defeat to Morales. He lost to a better boxer.
Still, he need not hang his head in shame. He did his best, and he even tried to stage a rally in the last round, but he could not turn the tide.
Pacquiao is still young, he has a great fighting spirit and he can still bounce back. He has many fights ahead of him. He has already proved his drawing power at the tills, and should be getting other fight offers in the near future.
President Macapagal-Arroyo rightly said that Pacquiao set an example of the "toughness we need to surmount our trials and in fighting our way to become a strong Philippines." Yes, it's time we discarded our negative, defeatist attitude and became tough, courageous and more determined to attain our goals, despite all the adversity and the bad breaks that we have been encountering.
If all of us can have the grit, determination and fighting heart of Manny Pacquiao, we can overcome all our personal and national trials, achieve more, and ultimately become a more progressive nation.
Big winners
ERIK Morales was of course the big winner of the fight. Before the fight, and during the bout itself, he simply played it cool. He was not affected by all the hype about Manny Pacquiao. He just played it smart, put into play all the ring experience in the 49 bouts that he had previously fought.
The Mexicans were also big winners. They must have believed all the hype about Pacquiao, because if reports are correct, they did not bet heavily on their man. But Pacquiao's defeat revived Mexican pride, which suffered a big blow when Pacquiao beat Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003. Now the Mexicans can even afford to taunt Pacquiao, saying that he is "all sound, no fury," and that he is not that smart and strong.
The promoters also won big and must have made a killing in the sale of tickets and TV rights. But they had a good gate because Pacquiao is "hot property," one of the best boxers in his class, pound for pound. So they have Pacquiao to thank for the millions that they made.
The audience, both at the MGM Grand Hotel Arena and those who watched the fight on TV, also won because Pacquiao and Morales fought a thrilling, closely contested fight. They got their money's worth.
Big winners in the Philippines were Solar Entertainment and RPN 9. The scores of commercials inserted between rounds -- even in the rounds of the undercard fights -- must have made millions for Solar and RPN 9. We wonder, however, if the two organizations did not violate an understanding in the TV industry to limit the number of commercials in a program or the coverage of an event. Is there really no way they can enforce the limit on the ad load of televised coverage of boxing bouts and other sporting events?
Can't we give the TV audience a better deal? Last Sunday, the radio had the results earlier than TV. It was not the first time that happened. Television stations delay the airing of the fight to be able to pack in all the commercials that the program can bear. But the main purpose of TV coverage of sporting events is to give the result -- as soon as possible -- and not only to provide entertainment. And so, in a sense, last Sunday the TV audience was a loser. But of course, the audience stays tuned to the carrying station because nothing beats the visuals of television.
Posted 11:42pm (Mla time) Mar 21, 2005
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A12 of the March 22, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANNY Pacquiao fought a good fight, but he lost to a taller, smarter, more experienced boxer. Still he deserves our applause for his courage and fighting heart. He gave the fight his all, but it was not enough to defeat Erik Morales, much less to knock him down.
People will be talking about the slambang bout in the next few days. What if Pacquiao had not suffered a cut on his right eyebrow, the result of a headbutt (which was not seen by the referee)? Would he have seen better and landed more telling blows on Morales? What if he had been allowed to use his favorite brand of boxing gloves? Would his blows have been more effective?
Boxing aficionados will be discussing many "what ifs," but the fact is that Pacquiao himself conceded defeat to Morales. He lost to a better boxer.
Still, he need not hang his head in shame. He did his best, and he even tried to stage a rally in the last round, but he could not turn the tide.
Pacquiao is still young, he has a great fighting spirit and he can still bounce back. He has many fights ahead of him. He has already proved his drawing power at the tills, and should be getting other fight offers in the near future.
President Macapagal-Arroyo rightly said that Pacquiao set an example of the "toughness we need to surmount our trials and in fighting our way to become a strong Philippines." Yes, it's time we discarded our negative, defeatist attitude and became tough, courageous and more determined to attain our goals, despite all the adversity and the bad breaks that we have been encountering.
If all of us can have the grit, determination and fighting heart of Manny Pacquiao, we can overcome all our personal and national trials, achieve more, and ultimately become a more progressive nation.
Big winners
ERIK Morales was of course the big winner of the fight. Before the fight, and during the bout itself, he simply played it cool. He was not affected by all the hype about Manny Pacquiao. He just played it smart, put into play all the ring experience in the 49 bouts that he had previously fought.
The Mexicans were also big winners. They must have believed all the hype about Pacquiao, because if reports are correct, they did not bet heavily on their man. But Pacquiao's defeat revived Mexican pride, which suffered a big blow when Pacquiao beat Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003. Now the Mexicans can even afford to taunt Pacquiao, saying that he is "all sound, no fury," and that he is not that smart and strong.
The promoters also won big and must have made a killing in the sale of tickets and TV rights. But they had a good gate because Pacquiao is "hot property," one of the best boxers in his class, pound for pound. So they have Pacquiao to thank for the millions that they made.
The audience, both at the MGM Grand Hotel Arena and those who watched the fight on TV, also won because Pacquiao and Morales fought a thrilling, closely contested fight. They got their money's worth.
Big winners in the Philippines were Solar Entertainment and RPN 9. The scores of commercials inserted between rounds -- even in the rounds of the undercard fights -- must have made millions for Solar and RPN 9. We wonder, however, if the two organizations did not violate an understanding in the TV industry to limit the number of commercials in a program or the coverage of an event. Is there really no way they can enforce the limit on the ad load of televised coverage of boxing bouts and other sporting events?
Can't we give the TV audience a better deal? Last Sunday, the radio had the results earlier than TV. It was not the first time that happened. Television stations delay the airing of the fight to be able to pack in all the commercials that the program can bear. But the main purpose of TV coverage of sporting events is to give the result -- as soon as possible -- and not only to provide entertainment. And so, in a sense, last Sunday the TV audience was a loser. But of course, the audience stays tuned to the carrying station because nothing beats the visuals of television.
posted by Dante at 12:00 AM
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