For the money

By Al S. Mendoza

FINALLY, we do not have “The Fight of the Year.”

Instead, what we are going to have is, “The Fake of the Year.”

I refer to the bout on December 6 between our very own Manny Pacquiao and Mexican Oscar De La Hoya.

Tell me, do you have a better name than that?

Ah, I have another one, “The Farce of the Year.”

And yet, another, “The Fix of the Year.”

They are one and the same.

A rose, by any other name, has the same smell.

* * *

Muhammad Ali was the one fighter who had set so many firsts in the sweet science called boxing.

When, as a brash challenger, Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) knocked Sonny Liston out in the 7th round for the world heavyweight crown in February 1964, the result was called The Upset of the Century.

When, on their return bout in November 1964, Ali knocked Liston out just seconds into the first round, the fight was called The Shock of the Century.

When, as the surprise underdog, Ali knocked out the unbeaten George Foreman in the 8th round in 1974 in Kinshaha, Zaire, the fight was called The Fight of The Decade.

When, on the third edition of his trilogy with Joe Frazier, Ali stopped Frazier in the 15th round on Oct. 1, 1975, at the Cubao Big Dome, the classic was called The Fight of The Century.

* * *

Fake of the Year. Farce of the Year. Fix of the Year.

Which one would suit it best?

“The Fake of the Year” because the bout is a built-in mismatch.

Thus, there is only one way to correct the mismatch: Both fighters will do everything to sanitize the circus.

You are left to engage in fantasy, imagination, make-believe, in order to make the fight palatable.

In the first place, it is a fight that is not supposed to happen.

It will break not only the rules of boxing but the game’s morals as well.

* * *

Look, Pacquiao is not a 147-lb fighter. Will never be.

Starting out as a 106, he’s a 135 now. Fine. He kept growing.

But like all humans – unless one is a Martian or an E.T. – we all stop growing. And ballooning.

Pacquiao has stopped growing at 5’51/2″. Thus, he should also stop gaining unnecessary poundage as a fighter.

His fighting weight, in short, is 135. OK, OK, we can put him up at 140, fine. I can agree to that.

But at 147?

It can be possible. But it can also be an absolute madness.

He fights at 147 and you expect him to be at his best?

God must be too extra kind to Pacquiao.

For De La Hoya at 147, definitely he can still recall his skills at that weight because he’s been there not just once but twice, thrice – although the last time he fought at 147 was eight years ago already.

De La Hoya now fights comfortably at 160, if not 154.

Now he will go down to 147. Why?

For the money.

This early, the fight is being ballyhooed as the richest in history – with both fighters stashing away millions of dollars (almost $50M) never before seen in the annals of the sport.

Pacquiao will go up to 147. Why?

For the money.

This early, the fight is being ba-llyhooed as the one fight that will officially install Pacquiao a certified bi-llionaire.

Now, if you were in Pacquiao’s shoes, will you not accept De La Hoya’s megabuck offer?

This is not yesterday, when people of principle still roamed the earth.

This is today, when everything that moves seems to frolic under the glare of money, if not the almighty do-llar.

“I was not born yesterday,” must be Pacquiao’s battle cry today.

Not even the genuine fear over his safety, expressed in no small measure by his wife, Jinkee, could stop Pacquiao from signing the dotted line.

Greed?

Say what you want to say, go on, lambaste the National Fist.

But for Pacquiao, today is what matters -more than any other time.

For the money.

(Readers may reach columnist at also147@yahoo.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/general-admission/ For reactions to this column, click “Send MESSAGES, OPINIONS, COMMENTS” on default page.)

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