Travel Light

There are usually two things every boxing afficionado would love to see during a Pacquiao event – the person who gets to sing the national anthem and the boxers of the main event.

Journey’s Arnel Pineda certainly did not disappoint. He was an extremely talented guy whose pitch soared up to the rooftop of the Dallas Cowboys Stadium. But come main event, I zonked out.

I fell asleep watching Pacquiao boxed an unresponsive Clottey. But it’s okay. It was free (perks of the job). If I paid a whopping P800 ticket to see Clottey act like a wall of Jericho, I would have punched him myself. It would be tad easier, like popping an adult acne to oblivion.

Clottey decided to be Pacquiao’s punching bag. Most of the time he was behind his boxing gloves shielding himself from those fiery combinations. And that obviously was a no-brainer.

It was rather an easy task than to get head-to-head with the pound-for-pound king. He had no title to lose, not even a reputation to rescue. If he went down on the floor, it’s still a win-win situation for him. He takes home a pricey cut from their boxing and PPV shares. So he shielded himself from those punches all the 12 rounds in order to come of it alive and be able to enjoy the booty.

That’s what exactly happened today. On the bad side, Clottey also earned the ire of millions of viewers who felt robbed watching a boring fight.

Manny Pacquiao sure did enjoy himself there with Jimmy Kimmel’s band and an audience chanting his name. It was fun to watch him belt out an old George Benson song, “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You”, and you probably wondered if it was meant for Jinkee. Or Krista. But who cares? Everyone enjoyed watching Pacquiao sing all smiles just 9 days more before he enters the ring with Joshua Clottey.

But nothing beats the enthusiasm of 90 million Filipinos throwing their support to the reigning pound-for-pound king. Pacquiao’s scheduled fights are sacred days to most Filipinos. The March 14 title bout is going to be quiet and crime-free because everyone’s glued to their television sets. Everyone takes a break from their chores, chasing after a very important life insurance lead, or even forgo breathing for the meantime. Even the most vile takes a day-off from spreading terror to see Pacquiao beat another opponent. So far, no one has ever done that here. Not even the Pope.

Now you know.