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By Ryan Arguelles
Boxer’s are a representation to one’s nation and country. Muhammad Ali in his time represented the great nation of America. After Ali, numerous American boxer’s followed him representing the stars and stripe flag for all the world to see.
Mexico has Julio Ceasar Chavez, no Mexican will deny him of his heroics inside the ring. Mexicans adored him until now, even passing the adulation to his son Julio Jr. though Junior is not on the same class of his father. But, he is the son of his father Julio Sr., he was embraced by Mexican fight fans.
Panama’s Roberto Duran is the country’s living testament of greatness, he is loved unconditionally by Panamanian until now. Alexis Arguello is Nicaragua’s “Explosive Thin Man”, he was his country’s favorite son, that’s why he was elected mayor of Managua as the people voted for him to pay their gratitude for representing Nicaragua in professional boxing. There are a lot more to be distinguished in every country, like Japan’s “Fighting” Harada, Puerto Rico’s Wilfredo Benitez and Tito Trinidad, The Klitsckhos of Ukraine and many, many more.
Boxers represent the status of one’s nation, be it by passion of one’s society, the level of machismo pride among male populace, or the economic stature of a country, whatever it is, the people or citizens of a nation will always give their support and love for their boxer, and boxer’s in return will always dedicate his life for his people inside the ring.
Floyd Mayweather is the exception, because after calling the Americans for their support for his fight against Manny Pacquaio, he abandoned his countrymen, his flag and his national anthem. The last part of the American anthem lyrics, “Land of the free, home of the brave…” was not put into consideration by Floyd Jr., that he too is an American, that he must represent America as a symbol of bravery inside the ring but all you saw and heard these past few weeks are the cowardly act of Floyd Jr. It’s a painful experience for the American fight fans to be represented by a coward boxer in this era.
He ducked Manny later and accused him of cheating within the sport without a shred of evidence, and cowardly ran away from the fight! Then he would continue to say in a radio interview that legacy don’t pay bills. He is a shame to American bravery.
Boxers I mentioned above fight for legacy and honor of their country or nation before any hint of paying the bills. Mayweather until now is a doubted fighter for his greatness and stature, because he didn’t fight the best. Nobody supports a coward boxer weather you live in America or you live in East Timor.
The Philippines Manny Pacquaio is the modern version of Ali’s greatness, the modern hero’s worship of Chavez, the legendary phenomenon which is Duran, and the people’s adulation and champion of the masses that is Alexis Arguello.
Manny Pacquaio is a symbol of Filippino bravery like the first Filipino hero Datu Lapu-lapu (slayer of the Portugese circumvigator and explorer Ferdinand Magellan), Andres Bonifacio (founder and leader of Katipunan Revolutionary against the Spanish colonial government), Jose Rizal (the national hero of the Philliipines, who asked the officer of the firing squad that he face the firing squad and not behind it), the bravery of the Philippine Warrior’s in the Philippine-American War in 1901 (with only bolos and spears against the modern weaponry of the American Regiment at Tirad Pass and in Mindanao), the Filipino Guerilla bravery in World War II against Japanese Imperial Forces, Ninoy Aquino insistanced to return home from exile even with the threat of assasination. Manny Pacquaio’s bravery and couraged is in the blood of our heroes and forefathers, he represented the Filippino bravery in his battles inside the ring. While his accuser nemesis Floyd Jr. didn’t represent the bravery of the American heroes and warriors, instead have shown cowardice in full view of the world through the media.
Manny Pacquaio in the eyes of every Filipino is the greatest, a hero, the new phenomenon and the champion of the masses. Yes, a champion of the masses in the Philippines! (Alex Ariza has witnessed how many poor Filippinos came to Manny while training in Bagiuo and Manila asking for financial support to pay for operation procedure and hospital bills, medication, funeral expenses, childrens’ enrollment, tuition fee, tickets and travel expenses, calamity victims needs etc. etc.)
Manny Pacquaio has represented the Filippinos in an unprecedented level of excellency. Until some conspired to put his integrity, dignity, his craft and hard work unto suspicion and malice, tarnished his image with allegation and false accusation without any schred of evidence.
When they question the integrity of Manny with these allegation and accusation, they also put the integrity and dignity of the whole Philippines and its citizens, who are living both in the Philippines and the million’s of Filippinos who reside outside Philippines to work as professionals in their field like doctors, physical therapist, nurses, care givers, engineers, accountants, seamans, entertainers, cook, hotel and restaurant managing professionals, etc etc.
The Filippinos are in diaspora all over the world to work as professionals and providing expertise to countries who lack manpower to sustain their need. All these Filippinos follow the boxing career of Manny Pacquaio because Manny represented their sacrifice, their hard work, their love of country and God, as Manny would always dedicate his win to all Filippinos and to God.
In all corners of the globe, you will see a Filippino in his field of expertised trying to make a difference for himself, his family and to his country. Like Manny Pacquaio, they brought integrity and dignity to Philippines in their sacrifice and effort. They sustained the economy of the Philippines afloat with all the money remittance. That’s why, any untowards allegation or accusation that points to any Filippino has an effect to Philippines economy.
Filippino integrity and Philippines dignity as a nation is important to us because thats where our investment and capital lies. Imagine if no one will hire the Filippino professionals in the world market because of lack of honesty and integrity? What will happen now to our economy, products, market and professional human work force? Manny Pacquaio helps to market the Filippinos to the whole world because he has shown sacrifice, hard work, bravery, courage under pressure, humility in times of triumph and faith in God. These are the traits of the typical Filipinos especially those who are abroad working and sacrificing for their family, children, even extending to relatives and friends in need.
Now in the States, people would always categorically put us as a third world, and I refused that title. Trust me, Philippines is not a third world country, I should know better, because I once lived near South Side of Chicago and have lived also in Brooklyn, New York. Everytime I go home in the Philippines for a visit, people has the newest technology in cell phones and laptops than most average American, they ate and dined at the best restaurants, eat organic and abundance of tropical fruits (expensive in the U.S), malls are bigger, sophistacated and cleaner than in the States, Filippinos go to world class white sand beaches and corals for a vacation (where most Americans can’t afford to go – average Americans only go to public swimming pools on summer time).
Filippinos wear European logos while most Americans wear China made apparels, and if you happen to be in a traffic in Makati or Edsa, you realized that European and Japanese luxury cars are bumper to bumper, while if you are in the borough of Queens, Bronx and Brooklyn New York, you see Crown Victoria and Hyundai cars, Japanese car is already a luxury in America.
The home of Manny Pacquaio is not a third world country even though there are poor Filippinos – who doesn’t have poor people in the world anyway? At least most of the poor in the Philippines still lives in a house while in America, they are homeless. Just check every city in the U.S. and you will find one in the steet, from west to east coast.
Filippinos are not braggarts and showy by nature, we have that kind of gift of humility. Ask a rich Filippino if he has money, he would say that he’s poor, tell Manny Pacquaio that he’s a special fighter, his answer is, “I’m only an ordinary fighter”, and credit his coach and trainer. Even if people or foreigner belittle us, we just take that for granted, and maybe again it’s just our nature or maybe an effect of colonial mentality?
I can see these humble traits on Manny Pacquaio even in the drama of his pre-post fights and right here in these negotiation with Golden Boy and Mayweather camp, so much disrespect shown to the Filippino Manny Pacquaio, who is the number one pound for pound champion of the world.
But as Manny Pacquaio said to those accusing him, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.” We have to show to the whole world that we are a strong nation! A strong nation like us should not be bullied and insulted in the media and to the world! Maligning our nation as a producer of the best performance enhancer drugs or steroids like what Floyd Mayweather Jr. said is comparable to blasphemy in religion. Then, Manny Pacquaio filed a lawsuit at a Nevada Court through a representative to clear his name.
If the Philippines produced the best performance enhancer drugs or steroids, then Philippines are also automatically an illegal distributor of these cheating drugs to the whole world? Do the Philippines only produce these performance enhancer designed drugs for Manny Pacquaio’s use only? There is more meaning on that if we could further ask Floyd Mayweather Jr! Are we drug traffickers in the Philippines just like his father? Since we produced the best cheating enhancing drugs that can’t be seen and detected by hi-tech laboratory test? Are China, Japan, Jamaica and European countries our customers for these type of drugs since athletes in these countries produced medals and it can’t be detected by high technological testing except blood test? Did we sustain our economy because of the income that is brought by the sales of these illegal manufactoring of performance enhancing drugs? This is a big blow to the OFW and the averaged working Filippino who has a big part in developing and sustaining the strong rebublic’s economy and not through manufacturing of illegal performing enhancing drugs that are ready for market, as our own Manny Pacquaio uses it, as claimed by Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Floyd Mayweather Sr.,Floyd Jr, their camp and Golden Boy Promotion has directly and indirectly accused Manny Pacquaio of wrongdoing, they planted doubt in the minds of people without any proof or evidence. They question the integrity of Manny Pacquaio’s accomplishments, even putting his beloved nation under suspicion of manufacturing drugs that cheats results of any sports as Floyd Jr. suggested.
They also questioned the trust of the employer of every Filippino professional workers and OFW all over the world, that the Filippinos are cheaters as what their hero boxer Manny Pacquaio is. Employers will now suspect that every Filippino is capable of cheating as what Manny Pacquaio ALLEGEDLY is doing to boxing. There is a big impact on these allegation to an average Filippino workers all over the world including America.
Golden Boy and Mayweather camp must not only answer to Manny Pacquaio in the ongoing lawsuit, but must answer to the whole Philippine nation. Their unwarranted allegation and accusation towards the representative of the Filippino’s in the person of Manny Dapidran Pacquaio in the global stage and to the world must not fall in deaf ear.
Manny Pacquaio and the whole Philippines cry for justice. There should be no settlement, because the name of a Philippines and his hero was tarnished and tainted with great suspicion and scandal. Aside from that, bringing the name of the Philippines as a producer of steroids and enhancers is way out of context!
I am calling for the Philippine government through the Department of Foriegn Affairs or the Philippine Congress, to extend all the needed help for Manny Pacquaio to clear his name and the Philippines through these false accusations.
The Philippine Government must issue a statement through their counterpart in the U.S. (the State Department and Justice Department ) that Manny Pacquaio must be given a fair justice in his quest to clear his name of any wrongdoing on his lawsuit against Golden Boy Promotion and the Mayweather Camp.
The Philippines Upper and Lower House must pass a resolution condemning the acts of the conspirators, the Golden Boy Promotion and the Mayweather camp on the damaged inflicted to our sports ambassador hero and global representative Manny Pacquaio and the infliction and damaged to the Philippine economy brought by these allegation. A loss of endorsement deals and the hesitation of big companies now on Manny Pacquaio as their endorser, means an effect to the Philippine economy.
Manny Pacquaio brings a lot of money into the Philippine economy, as well as all Filippinos abroad, who are now a subject of suspicion as cheaters by their employers because of the domino effect brought by the allegation and accusation of cheating to Manny Pacquaio by the Mayweather Camp and Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya and CEO Richard Schaefer. An allegation of this kind has a big impact to the economy of the Philippines and to the morals of its people.
The Philippine government must also issue a statement on the allegation of Floyd Mayweather Jr. that it is not a country that produces enhancing cheating drugs to the American and world media organization.
This is a call to the Philippine government to act swiftly for the integrity and dignity of Manny Pacquaio and to all its citizens. Fight or no fight with Mayweather, Filippinos want the lawsuit not to be dropped Philippines is not worth $40 million. Philippines is worth dying for.
Ryan Arguelles
Davao City, Phil- New York, USA
