A nation's pride wagered on 60 percent

Let me warn the reader that these are not my own words but Manny Pacquiao's. He said so himself in an interview by Dyan Castillejo after his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and aired last Monday on Karen Davila's show. Pacquiao admitted that two weeks before the fight, he aggravated an old shoulder injury sustained while jetskiing, and that by the time he went up the ring for what was to be the fight of the century, he was only 60 percent of his healthy and fighting self.

Yes, Pacquiao said he was only 60 percent. In his own words he said it. No, not 90 percent nor 80 percent. He was not even 70 percent. He said he was only just 60 percent. Forget about the P2,500 I paid for a Skycable pay-per-view subscription because at least I can let off steam by writing. But think about that guy, whoever he was, who paid for the worst seat at the MGM Grand for $1,500.

Never mind those who paid nearly a million dollars for ringside seats because, like Mayweather, they can afford to burn their money away. But think about the thousands who shelled out P800 at all SM and at least two Ayala cinemas in Cebu just to watch the fight live. Think about the thousands more who filled the hotels, restaurants and bars at varying prices, depending on the come-ons, for the same purpose.

But that is only for people who had money to spare. Think of the millions more who didn't and had to endure the heat and crowded conditions in public gyms and auditoriums for the free live airings of the fight courtesy of local governments and civic organizations. All of them turned out for what they were made to believe was their fight as well.

It was the fight of the whole nation. We were made to believe that and that is what we believed without question. There were campaigns on tv and the Internet about showing support for the Pacman. There was the so-called #OneForPacman that had every celebrity or pretender thereto having himself or herself on camera throwing a punch in support of our national pride.

There were t-shirts, coffee mugs, caps -- anything that sells -- just to keep up with the hooplah and the hype. The whole world was caught up in the frenzy. Nobody was spared, not even the royals, or so the joke went. Kate Middleton was rushed to the hospital, labored, gave birth to Britain's newest princess, then went right back home, all within record time, just so Prince William can watch the fight on tv.

And then, for all of the hot passions and the cold cash, for all the genuine admiration and unbridled nationalism, for all the other things stayed, put on hold or rescheduled just to find time to watch the fight, for all the snacks or meals foregone or necessities not bought just to scrimp and save for the money to buy a pass or a ticket, for all the miles flown just to be there when it happened -- AND PACQUIAO WAS NOT 100 percent?

I have never felt so betrayed. I am so disappointed I even find it difficult to be angry. But I have to. I need to be angry because the whole thing now seems so wrong. I need to be angry for all of those who cannot express their own anger. This is no longer about how Mayweather cheated everybody else by refusing to engage Pacquiao in a real fight, even if there was no way Mayweather can change what is his own style of fighting.

This is now about how Pacquiao cheated everybody else too, and perhaps even more than Mayweather did, by proceeding with a fight that he knew can only be won if he was 100 percent. But he was not. As he himself said, he was only 60 percent. What was he thinking? Did it not occur to him that he was taking down the hopes and the trust of an entire nation down with him?

Worse, he knew he was not 100 percent two weeks before the fight. So why did he not ask for a postponement. Postponing a fight is not a shot at the moon. It has happened a lot of times. And if this fight was five to six years in the making, what was a three to four week postponement, the time Pacquiao himself said his doctor determined would take his injury to heal.

There is now talk that the Nevada State Athletic Commission may sanction Pacquiao for fraud, the offense he committed when he and his camp lied in the form they filled out before the weigh-in just the day before the fight. I agree. When you check NO instead of YES to indicate no injuries, there is no inadvertence there. The lying is deliberate. I do not know how Pacquiao argues his case, but in my book, when you fight at only 60 percent, you are betraying your nation and your fans.

“This is now about how Pacquiao cheated everybody else too, and perhaps even more than Mayweather did, by proceeding with a fight that he knew can only be won if he was 100 percent. But he was not. As he himself said, he was only 60 percent. What was he thinking? Did it not occur to him that he was taking down the hopes and the trust of an entire nation down with him?”