EDITORIAL - What's the fuss about Gorres?

The problem with us Filipinos is that we are very poor losers. Whatever the arena for our endeavors, be it in sports or politics or whatever, we never cease to belly-ache and sour-grape each time we lose.

In our eyes, we never seem to lose fairly. We are always getting cheated, hoodwinked, blindsided. The rug is always pulled from under our feet. We are anything but being treated fair and square.

Take the case of the sorry split decision loss of Cebu boxer Z " The Dream " Gorres to Mexican champion Fernando Montiel only very recently at the Cebu Sports Center. Everybody is crying that Gorres was robbed, including those who do not know anything about boxing.

But anybody who has ever seen Gorres fight would tell you that of all the active Filipino boxers today who have seen action in international fights, Gorres probably has the least chance of becoming a true world champion.

Gorres does not have the punch that Manny Pacquiao and Boom Boom Bautista have, the kind of punch that not only can win world championships convincingly but, more importantly, develop an international fan base that can make moneyed global promoters smack their lips.

And because Gorres does not have the punch, his fights lack the sense of anticipation and high tension that often mark the Pacquiao and Bautista fights. Gorres will never have riotous mobs chanting his name.

When Gorres lost by split decision to Montiel, the poor losers cried foul. They claim our boy got cheated. Well, if scores can be manipulated as they suggest, then it can also work the other way, right? What if we turn the tables around and say it was Montiel who got cheated?

What if the judges were just being kind to Gorres and allowed him a close split decision loss so as not to embarrass him before the home crowd? Knowing how Gorres fights, and knowing how fans are more emotional than real experts, we wonder if this was not, in fact, the real case.