The fight that every avid boxing fan wants to happen is finally happening on May 2 at the MGM Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
After almost half a decade of back-and-forth without really accomplishing anything, Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and undefeated American pugilist Floyd Mayweather finally agreed to make the fight, which could go down as the richest ever in the history of the sport.
Analysts say both fighters could earn up to $200 million from the combined gate receipts and pay-per-view earnings, which should make a lot of people happy, especially the IRS in the United States and our own Bureau of Internal Revenue.
That Mayweather only agreed to fight if he is paid 60 percent of the purse may rankle some people’s sense of fairness, but in the politics of sports, this is a reality that even the great Pacquiao, or his wizened promoter Bob Arum could take with a mouthful of salt if they want to see the fight realized.
Mayweather, who is nicknamed ‘Money,’ gets more, not necessarily because he’s greedy, but because he wanted to put one over the Pinoy icon before the fight even starts.
But in the end, the American boxer’s lavish lifestyle (he’s known to throw away money at parties he pays for) should make things more or less even.
This is not to say that Pacquiao is less profligate, but because he once was dirt poor, he knew, more or less, the value of every centavo earned through hard work, grit, sweat and blood.
Those who follow Pacquiao’s career – and those who literally follow him in all his fights – say that Pacquiao is generous to a fault.
This generosity may be borne from the life he had lived in the streets, where he saw and experienced first-hand extreme poverty.
His struggles and his being poor may have also contributed to his desire to go into public service. As Sarangani congressman, Pacquiao now has the tools and the mechanisms to help his less-fortunate constituents.
Pacquiao, however, didn’t stop being a politician. He was, (and still is) a singer, an action star and lately a professional basketball player and coach in the Philippine Basketball Association.
Apart from boxing, the Pacman wasn’t as successful in his other endeavors, but you have to admire his energy – if not his guts – in trying to accomplish everything at the same time.
Now here comes Mayweather finally agreeing to a fight, and boasting that Pacquiao will be victim no. 48.
“Manny is going to try to do what 47 before him failed to do, but he won’t be successful. He will be number 48,” Mayweather reportedly said after announcing the fight to media.
Mayweather is brash, arrogant and loud, but he is a fast, skilled fighter who had remained unbeaten because he is a smart boxer.
Manny’s weapons, on the other hand, are his equally-fast fists, an even better footwork and power on both hands.
Still, most mediamen in the US think that Mayweather’s ring savvy may be too much for Pacquiao and installed the brash American as a 2-1 favorite.
This should be enough impetus for Pacquiao (and coach Freddie Roach) to train hard like he never trained before and totally discard all other activities and focused on the difficult task at hand.
We want Pacquiao to win this fight not because we want him to earn more money or because we want to see Mayweather’s foul mouth shut (although that would make Pinoy boxing fans happy).
We want the Pacman to win simply because we celebrate his being a true-blooded Filipino who never backs out from a fight, who will fight to the bloody, bitter end, and who will accept victory or defeat in equal amounts of grace.
We want him to win because in a country where its leaders lack even a semblance of courage, Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao remains a symbol of a Pinoy grit, determination and will.