Manny’s farewell fight
BOXING champion Manny Pacquiao is probably the best-known Filipino in the world today. It is said that when he dropped by the recent Amateur International Boxing Association ( AIBA) World Championships in Doha, Qatar, he was mobbed not only by the spectators but by the competing fighters themselves, who stopped what they were doing to go to Pacquiao and have pictures with him. It was at this tournament that AIBA President Dr. Ching Kuo Wu of Taiwan invited Pacquiao to join the coming Rio Olympics in August when Olympic boxing is expected to be opened to professional athletes, just as Olympic basketball is no longer limited to amateurs.
Pacquiao’s popularity abroad is but a reflection of his popularity in our country. When he fights in the United States or elsewhere in the world, it seems almost everyone in this country stays home or goes to arenas to join other fans to watch the fight on television. On April 9, he will have what he calls the farewell fight of his career with American Tim Bradley in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has been asked by one senatorial candidate to pre- vent the airing on television of this fight on the ground that the TV broadcast would give Pacquiao a tremendous advantage over other senatorial candidates. Under the Fair Election Act, Republic Act 9006, even media professionals who are constantly exposed to mass media are required to go on leave during the campaign period, the petitioner said.
The Comelec has scheduled a meeting on Tuesday. March 8, on this matter. Comelec spokesman Director James Jimenez recalled that in 2007, when Pacquiao ran for mayor of General Santos City, there was a similar petition on his fight with Mexican Jorge Solis. But that case does not necessarily bind the Comelec today, as the circumstances are different, he said. The Comelec will be deciding in accordance with the provisions of the Fair Election Act.
Considering Pacquiao’s tremendous following and recognition not only in this country but all over the world, it does not seem logical to expect the coming Bradley fight to add any further to his name recall among voters. It would be a sad day for all -- voters or not -- if this last fight of Manny Pacquiao would be banned from the TV airwaves.