Pacman should retire

By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.

FOR the 2nd time this year I was not able to write my article last week due to time constraints and the pressure for the preparation of the Jun Ebdane Cup Pangasinan Day Cycling Classic last Nov. 13, an event sponsored by the former DPWH secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr.

It was a successful event in terms of crowd attendance and the participation of 75 veteran cyclists. Nov. 13 was a lucky day. And because of the success, Sec. Ebdane is mulling another event, a much bigger one, which will be run in Mindanao. I hope it will push through.

That last bikefest was the 155th race I have directed.

Two days after that event, the much awaited and touted Pacquiao-Cotto WBO welterweight championship fight was held. I watched that monumental encounter at the Bonuan Gueset Barangay Hall at the invitation of barangay chairman Angel Gumarang, a nice place, like a resort. The fight had a happy ending. We had cheers and beers after the fight.

Pacquiao won a convincing victory. He proved again that he’s really the pound-for-pound king in bo-xing in the whole world. He achieved a seventh title, a feat that nobody else has accomplished since the birth of prizefighting.

No question about it.  But today, many are now pushing Pacquiao to clash against former pound-for-pound titlist and undefeated American pugilist Floyd Mayweather Jr. I tend to agree with those who want the colossal fight to happen if only to erase any doubt on who-is-who in the world of professional boxing once and for all.

But two days after the fight, Pacman’s beloved mother, Aling Dionisia, said his son should retire now, to avoid injuries and serious damages in the future, fearing that his son might suffer fate similar to former world champions Muhammad Ali, Wilfredo Benitez, and Filipino prizefighter Rolando Navarete, to name a few.

I believe Madam Dionisia is right because Pacman, despite plastering Cotto, also suffered contusions on the face and right ear, a sign of Cotto’s damaging punches.

Pacman has nothing to prove anymore because he has demolished the best boxers in the world in seven different weight divisions.  Many say he could beat the newly crowned world junior middleweight king Yuri Foreman despite his six inches advantage in height. But if you ask me, that could be a suicidal move. The guy, Foreman, is too big and too tall for Pacquiao.

As the saying goes “You cannot win them all!” Amen.

MABUHAY SI PACMAN, MABUHAY TAYONG LAHAT! VIVA FILIPINAS!

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Congrats to Kap Gumarang on his election as chairman (unopposed) of the City’s Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council. The election was held at Mayor Al Fernandez’s farm resort at Bacayao Norte on November 18.

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