Pacquiao did it for respect, period

MANILA, Philippines—No, it was not a simple case of the deal being sealed over beer.

Definitely not, protested Vice Gov. Manny Piñol of North Cotabato on how the purse tug-of-war between Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and British boxer Ricky Hatton was trivialized in the media over the weekend.

“No sir!” Piñol explained in his column for www.philboxing.com.

Was it not true that confidante Wakee Salud only had to accept the dare to gulp down three bottles of beer for Pacquiao to agree?

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“It was not the beer, not even the heart-to-heart talk with his promoter Bob Arum, that made Manny agree to the terms and conditions of his May 2 Las Vegas fight against Hatton,” Piñol said.

What was the real score?

“Manny got what he wanted—RESPECT. The bigger share of the purse is just secondary. These were the real reasons why he signed the contract to fight Hatton. The beer is definitely out of the question,” Piñol bared.

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Piñol went on to emphasize the nobility behind Pacquiao’s firm stand which, he said, pitifully got drowned in the lighthearted articles written about the purse tug-of-war.

“Pacquiao’s dogged determination to earn the respect of boxing impressarios—called by boxing writer Michael Marley as ‘sharks in suits’—who for so long have acted like demigods, had been overlooked,” Piñol lamented.

He continued: “Well, the days when promoters would run circles around dumb, gullible fighters, sometimes not even showing them the contracts, are gone, maybe forever, thanks to what Manny Pacquiao did.”

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But did Pacquiao do it only for himself?

“More than to get his deserved purse, Manny has redeemed the honor of the Filipino people by teaching them to fight for what is rightfully theirs. Pacquiao stood his ground and did not budge even when he was threatened with a fight cancellation by promoter Bob Arum,” Piñol said.

(Pacquiao had also refused to answer Arum’s repeated phone calls.)

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Anyway, how much did Manny Pacquiao actually get?

“As has been reported in the media, 52 percent of the guaranteed purse, which translates to $12 million, plus the earnings in the pay-per-view. In addition, it was reported that Bob Arum coughed up an additional amount—in the vicinity of $1 million to $1.5 million—just to get Manny to affix his signature on the fight contract.”

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Piñol said that, as could only be expected, some people had accused Pacquiao of being greedy.

“Is it greed when Kobe Bryant negotiates for a better deal with his team’s management, or when Tiger Woods asks for millions of dollars for product endorsements?” Piñol exclaimed.

He answers his own questions.

“They are just getting what is due them because of their talents, skills and popularity.”

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In the case of Manny Pacquiao, he got the amount that he wanted and achieved even more.

Explained Piñol: “By showing stubbornness in the negotiations, by refusing to blink when the ‘sharks’ thought he would, Pacquiao proved to the whole world that the Filipino—often ridiculed in his roles as japayuki, nanny, migrant worker—can’t simply be pushed around.”

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Piñol, who last year hit the Arroyo administration for forsaking the Filipino people by offering vast tracks of ancestral land to rebels, praised Pacquiao for showing the whole world “that in a nation where politicians are accused of selling their people’s interests for a few million pesos, there is a Filipino who could say no to a projected fight earnings of P1 billion simply because it is not fair.”

That is a priceless thought, Piñol concluded, powerful enough to lift the spirits and hopes of the Filipino people.

Source: inquirer.net