Rosalio Pacquiao will be at ringside when his son Manny fights Miguel Cotto Saturday evening in Las Vegas or Sunday morning here in the Philippines.
Tatay Rosalio, who hails from Pinamungahan, Cebu, will be seeing his son fight in person for the first time in his career. He will be watching beside Nanay Dionisia.
We all know the story between father and son. He left when Manny was in Grade 6 or between 11 or 12 years old. They never meet again until 15 years later. (By the way, Manny corrected an anecdote reported by an Australia website that his father, drunk at that time, butchered and ate his dog. Manny says it was his father’s friend.)
Manny met his estranged father for the first time in 2006, after stopping Erik Morales in the second bout of their fabled trilogy. Manny was coming home and at the airport there stood Tatay Rosalio besides Nanay Dionisia.
Before the fight with Morales, the pound-for-pound king called his Tatay from his suite in Las Vegas. Whatever Tatay Rosalio told Manny was good enough for the younger Pacquiao to kayo Morales!
Despite the hardships that Pacquiao suffered when his father abandoned them, when he finally reunited with him, he made sure he had something. After all, he was his father, no matter what.
He bought him a three-bedroom house in General Santos City that cost more than a million pesos.
Who knows what else Manny gifted his father. If he’s able to give his friends ringside tickets, fly politicians to Las Vegas, give away turkeys to Pinoys in LA last year, or donate to typhoon victims, he has a few bucks to spend for his father.
That includes bringing him to America to watch him fight.
When Manny came out of the plane at the Manila International Airport in 2006, he was so excited to see his Tatay and Nanay together again.
“Talagang masayang-masaya ako ngayon kasi first time ko silang nakita at sabik na sabik talaga akong makita ko sila,” Manny then said.
A doting son will once again see his Tatay and Nanay together, this time watching him fight for an unprecedented seventh boxing crown.
With Tatay Rosalio and Nanay Dionisia watching, it would be impossible for Manny to lose this bout.
I could almost feel the motivation, the itch, and the will for Manny to show his parents that their son is the greatest of all. Perhaps show them, through this fight, that they could be together again as a family!
There’s no reason bringing your whole family to watch you lose a fight! Thus, with this mindset, it would be impossible to beat Pacquiao.
* * *
If you’re still looking for a place to watch the Pacquiao-Cotto bout, why don’t you consider Marco Polo Plaza Hotel’s offering?
For P250, inclusive of free-flowing coffee, you could enjoy the bout on a big screen. If you want full set breakfast, just add another P250. After the bout, if you want lunch, you could enjoy a 15% discount at Café Marco, the best restaurant in the city.
Kindly call 253-1111 for more details.
For comments, please write rabai_o@yahoo.com.