Many Filipinos were disappointed with Bernabe Concepcion’s second round loss to the Puerto Rican champion Juan Manuel Lopez last Sunday. Concepcion managed to floor Lopez late in the first round, giving hope to his countrymen who thought the fight was over after Concepcion got knocked down and badly beaten earlier in the round. However, that very hope faded away in round two when the referee stopped the fight due to another knock down suffered by the young Filipino pugilist.
Such loss is met with heart-felt disappointment in Manny Pacquiao’s native land, a country where the sport of boxing is similar to religion. Boxing has come a long way since it was first introduced by the Americans as part of their mission to civilize the Philippines. As a matter of fact, it has even surpassed basketball as the national sport.
If basketball had Michael Jordan, boxing has Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao’s fights are tell-tale signs of the sport’s significance to the Philippine archipelago. One can say that the country literally stops every time Pacquiao steps in the ring to fight. The typically clogged streets are empty during the day of the fight as everybody is watching Pacquiao throw combinations. Government officials fly abroad to personally see the fight and support Manny. Even criminals take a day off from work during Pacquiao’s fights, a testament to the fact that everybody in the country would postpone other activities if possible just to see a boxing match. And it’s not just Manny Pacquiao. Several Filipino boxers like Nonito Donaire, Bernabe Concepcion, Brian Villoria, Rodel Mayol and Ana Julaton have also made a name for themselves. Even though they have yet to attain the same level of fame as Pacquiao’s, they all contribute to the growing influence of boxing in the country.
Boxing provides Filipinos a break from the woes of everyday life. Faced with the problems of corruption, crimes and poverty, Juan Dela Cruz manages to smile and celebrate every time a Filipino boxer grabs a win. Historically speaking, one of the major events that united the Filipino people is the EDSA revolution. People up stood with one another to end decades of dictatorship. And in times when unity is nothing but a faint shadow that teases the struggling Filipinos, the sweet science of boxing can be the answer. Being a third-world country, the Philippines is stuck in a non-developmental state compared to the rest of the world. The republic needs to boost its morale, which has been crushed by poverty and a corrupt administration. Boxing provides that needed boost. Boxers are modern day heroes that supply their countrymen with hope. Aside from the national pride they bring, they also serve as an inspiration because of their rise from poverty towards the international stage. Pacquiao once sold donuts for a living. With the odds against him during his younger years, he worked his way up to reach a global pedestal and earn millions of dollars. Applying that concept to a general scale, that just goes to show that Filipinos can achieve monumental goals a people if they want to. They’ve done it twice with the EDSA revolution and they certainly can do it again thanks to the golden examples of boxing. If the republic can exercise unity in watching Filipino boxers fight in the world stage, there’s simply no reason why it cannot exercise unity in times of despair.
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