Watching Manny Box In the Philippines
I have been in the Philippines for almost seven years now. I still love it, sans the traffic, and this has become my home. I’m an immigrant, not a guest anymore. I’m not a citizen though, so I don’t want to give my opinion who should be president, but I have observed Philippine society for long enough that I think I can make a prediction about the country’s society. As usual with predictions there is no guarantee that things will play out as I predict, but I think it’s more likely than not. So, this is not an endorsement (not that anyone would care!) but an estimate of a likely outcome (what I think will happen), independently of what I think should to happen in the Philippines (which is gladly none of my business).
Let me illustrate with two anecdotes what I think will happen in the next Philippine presidential election:
One
I can tell you the exact day when anecdote number one took place, because I can look up the date of the Pacquiao – Mosley fight on boxrec: It was 2011-05-08.
My feet were clad in cheap sandals, and I was standing in the mud in front of a sari-sari store (village convenience store selling basic food, cigarettes, rum and shampoo). Around me was a crowd of about 40 other guys, all from my ex’ home village in the back-country in the sugar-cane growing north of Cebu. I was the only foreigner in the crowd, but no one really cared about that. The sole focus was on the Manny Pacquiao versus “Sugar” Shane Mosley boxing match, which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was broadcast in the Philippines; due to the time-zone difference, we got to watch it the next day mid-morning, on a small TV in the window of said sari-sari store.
While the fight went on, at least none of the men in the village tended to their fields, feed their farm animals, cuddled their fighting roosters or played a game of checkers. No motorcycles were racing around on the rough roads around the village, and no one sang any karaoke. But for the fight-sounds coming from the small TV, there was an eerie, very un-Philippine quiet. Life had stopped temporarily, this was Manny time. Indeed, the fight did not disappoint.
I always had loved boxing; it’s such a primordial contest between two athletes. No silly, complicated rules. I never boxed myself but I had been a fan since my teenage years. I genuinely enjoyed the fight and the vibe in front of the village TV.
Manny outpointed Mosley comfortably, there were few flashy moments in the fight, but Manny was the better man. This was a very high level technical boxing match. In the end the judges got it right, which is far from a given in big-time pro boxing. Mosley was one of the top boxers of the early 2000s in the lighter weight classes, and this was an impressive win. Everyone in the northern Cebu sugarcane country village seemed very satisfied with the outcome, and they went back to their agricultural work & Red Horse-fueled socializing a bit happier. After a Pacman-induced break of virtually all activity other than watching boxing, life resumed.
Two
A few years later I was still wearing sandals, but the fancy type with a brand name on the fabric which goes aver your feet and in-between your first and second toe; In a country where super-wealth is signaled with a super-super-sized shoe collection, one has to adjust the footwear at least slightly for the occasion. This time I was not standing in the mud, but was leaning back in a really comfy chair on a terrace overlooking the ocean in Anilao, Batangas. At that point, I was the photo pro at a lovely luxury diving resort in one of the country’s top diving locations.
But just as a few years prior, I was in a crowd watching Manny Pacquiao fight.
Again, I can use boxrec to find the exact date when this happened: The Pacquiao – Mayweather fight took place on 2015-05-02 in the US, hence we watched it live on May 3rd in the late morning.
The people around me were the scuba diving loving upper class of Manila. The occasional wealthy expat couples were mixed in with successful business-people from the nation’s capital. They had taken a few days off from their busy schedule and come to a very enjoyable but pricey place on the beach a few hours by car south of Manila. By car, driven by a driver, likely. Good food, amazing diving, spectacular sunsets and comfy rooms, it was all there for them. And a fight to watch which no one wanted to miss!
We were not starring at a small village TV, but at a gigantic, and undoubtedly super expensive, flat-screen TV which had been set up especially to watch Manny fight. No one in the resort did anything else during the broadcast. There wasn’t any diving or beach volleyball going on.
This was supposed to be the fight of the century. It turned out to be fairly anti-climactic. Mayweather had been an action-fighter in previous encounters, but had wisely decided to go defensive-first in this fight. I don’t think he is the greatest boxer of all time (I pick the late Marvin Hagler for that), but he was maybe the best defensive boxer of all time. Manny couldn’t get to him very much, and the limited but precise punching output of Mayweather was enough to get a points win. No one got knocked down or got hurt. Later Pacquiao claimed that he had gone into the fight with a shoulder injury, and given his limited efforts in the latter rounds, when he was not hurt and must have been aware that he was behind, I think this is a credible claim.
After the unanimous decision for Mayweather was announced, fight the resort was noticeably quieter than on usual days for the rest for the day. It’s not a great day if Manny loses, even if the sun sets in deep orange over a picturesque bay in front of you.
From the people who own 10 chickens to those who own 10 cars, everybody is mesmerized by Manny in the Philippines. The country stopped when Manny boxed. I have not seen anything close to that kind of admiration towards an athlete in any other country, directed at anyone else. Maybe when Pele ran onto the soccer pitch in Brazil back in the days the vibe was similar, but I wasn’t there to witness it.
A presidential election is a popularity contest in most countries, and my impression is that this is certainly true in the Philippines.