We were invited to the welcome breakfast hosted by GMA network at the Mida’s Hotel along Roxas Boulevard last Saturday and I must say that Manny Pacquiao’s “loss” to Timothy Bradley Jr. did not in any way dampen the enthusiasm of people to greet and listen to Pacquiao. It certainly did not defeat the spirit of the eight-division boxing champion who, looking dapper in a yellow jacket, spoke of the need to move forward, to accept God’s will, and defining, on the eve of Father’s Day, what makes an ideal father. In the evening was a dinner hosted by the Tieng brothers and their families (William, Wilson and Willie) and Peter Chanliong of Solar Sports.
At any rate, back to the GMA and Mida’s welcome for Pacquiao, we were seated at breakfast with former Manila Councilor Ali Atienza, party list Congressman Mark Sambar and Wilson Tieng. Eric Pineda, business associate of Pacquiao, later joined us and shared his post-fight insights. After staying for over an hour, we decided it was time to say goodbye to Pacquiao, and GMA bosses, Atty Felipe Gozon, Jimmy Duavit and other guests. As I bade Pacquiao good bye, I noticed he was going over the Bible in search of a particular passage he had wanted to share with his guests.
I whispered to him and told him that one of my favorite passages in Scripture is Philippians 3, 12-14 (from Life Application Bible- The Living Bible) and which is so appropriate for him: “I don’t mean to say I am perfect. I haven’t learned all I should even yet, but I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us.”
The explanatory footnote reminds us all especially athletes like Pacquiao: “Paul (who wrote letters to the Philippians) said his goal was to know Christ, to be like Christ, and to be all that Christ has in mind for him. This goal absorbed all his energy. This is an example for us. We should not let anything take our eyes off our goal – Christ. With the single mindedness of an athlete in training, we must lay aside everything harmful and forsake even the good things that may distract us from being effective Christians. “
The passage seems to be made to order for Pacquiao who says he has found new life in Scripture and prayer. In fact, he keeps on stressing that, we should move on and forgive those who have wronged us and forget what they have done.
I witnessed how Pacquiao tries to live out this basic code one day in January when I was in his congressional office. A veteran writer showed him an article in an American broadsheet which hinted at the use by Juan Manuel Marquez of performance enhancing drugs in their Pacquia0-Marquez III contest in Las Vegas in November 2011. Pacquiao had narrowly escaped defeat and quite a number of people were surprised at the strength of Marquez, who is three years older than Pacquiao, and Marquez’s bulging muscles. The writer had been doing some research and was pushing for an official investigation by boxing authorities and even the Philippine congress. Pacquiao simply looked at him and said, “Huwag na. Kalimutan mo na yan. Patawarin na natin siya kung totoo” (Don’t pursue that. Forget it. Let’s forgive him, if it’s true).
Despite Pacquiao’s readiness to move on, there are still quite a number of people who insist on discussing the why’s and the wherefores of the scores submitted by the American judges, including the one who had Pacquiao winner. To be sure, the odds were terribly stacked against Bradley and there was near unanimity in the conclusion that he would lose and even lose by knockout. A few were willing to concede the fight to Bradley. One of these few that I am aware of is Bradley’s former manager Lee Bates.
Bates, from Jacksonville, Florida, boldly told noted boxing promoter and sports philanthropist Tony Aldeguer of Cebu a few days before the fight, “watch out, Bradley will pull an upset. He’s young, he has the skills and he’s hungry.” Bates, who doubles up as a sports writer, publicist and booking agent, apparently knew enough of Bradley to have faith in him. We just wonder why he’s not Bradley’s manager anymore.