General Admission

Pacquiao makes us all winners
By Al S. Mendoza

I SAID Manny Pacquiao could fall in 6 rounds or less.  I didn’t say he would fall in 6 rounds or less.  “Could” is a guess. “Would” is certainty. 
But don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to justify the mistake behind a prediction that didn’t come true – if it be considered a justification.
Anyway, I was wrong, period.  And I offer no explanation.
Predicting is the riskiest job ever.  There is no certainty here.  It’s like palm-reading.  You’ll never know if your reading is right or not. 
Boxing is one sport so exciting that predicting outcomes of any fight is part and parcel of the game.  If you hit it, fine.  If you miss it, fine, too. It’s part of it.  It’s part of life, if not the spice of life.
You don’t predict, you are a bore.
You predict, you are in tune with life.
Do we not love to predict the sex of our first child?
Do we not love to predict what we want to become after college?
Do we not love to predict who would be the next president of our country?
Do we not predict this early, who would be the next mayor of Dagupan, or the next governor of Pangasinan?
Gonz Duque has said Marc Cojuangco would be the next governor of Pangasinan û that is, if Marc so desires it.
Predicting is like gambling.  You are never too sure whether a bet will come out right or not.
Election is almost similar to predicting.  You can say a candidate is good and will become an honest, if not incorruptible, public servant once elected to the post he/she is running for.  But you will never know until that candidate has won.  If you want to know the character of a person, give him/her power and authority.
Filipinos, if not mankind, love knowing what the future supposedly holds.  The likes of Madam Auring survives, if not thrives, because man is a born sucker.  Man feeds on the illusions of grandeur, of a future that promises milk and honey.
Name me a fortune teller that tells you a bleak future is in store for you. Either that fortune teller is out of his/her mind or merely trying to extract more money from you.  Once you up the ante, he/she will immediately tell you that you ought to buy a lotto ticket the minute you part ways.
In America, particularly in Las Vegas where Manny Pacquiao beat Erik Morales by a 10th round technical knockout last Sunday, many believed Pacquiao would lose.
I understood that.  
Americans were generally for Morales because 1) Morales beat Pacquiao on March 19, 2005, and 2) because Morales is close to the Americans because Americans have a strong affinity to Mexicans – California being formerly a part of Mexico.
Same with Filipinos.  Virtually every Filipino was for Pacquiao and only the incorrigible gamblers pretending to be fight experts picked Morales to win.  The so-called wise-money bet was Morales.
I picked Pacquiao to win by knockout because to me, Pacquiao is the hardest puncher in his class (130 lbs) today. Yes, I missed the knockout happening in Round 10 but, nevertheless, I had predicted him to win by knockout.  It happened in the 10th – a difference of four rounds from my 6th-round prediction.
Well, not to justify again but Morales almost got knocked down in the 6th round. He got hit real hard in the round and he was about to fall but found himself bouncing off referee Kenny Bayless.  Maybe, just maybe, had he fallen, who knows what might have happened next?
Anyway, Pacquiao won and, with his victory, the nation cheered.  Even for just a fleeting moment, we all were united û as in both Edsa 1 and Edsa 2.
In the end, that’s what counts.
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