Pacquiao’s faith and future

Pacquiao-Marquez 4 ended with  Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao knocked out by rival Juan Manuel Marquez in the last few seconds of the sixth round. Pacquiao came out aggressively during the fight though he got knocked down in the third round. He got back at Marquez, knocking down the latter in the fifth round.

I think Pacquiao was so inspired when he knocked down Marquez that he got too aggressive and went for the kill in the sixth round. He got hit by a vicious right in the  jaw and was flattened on the canvass.

Many were stunned and left speechless for a few minutes because they could not believe the tragic end of the fight. Many worry about the health of Pacquiao because Marquez’s punch may have jarred his brain and have caused himserious damage.

An interesting side issue is being raised by Manny Pacquiao’s mother Aling Dionisia, who blamed Manny’s abandoning the Roman Catholic religion in favor of born-again Christianity for his loss. Aling Dionisia’s lament was echoed by many Filipinos who noticed that Manny Pacquiao was no longer wearing a Rosary around his neck.  When he prayed in the corner before the fight he knelt but did not make the sign of the cross.

The priest who used to say Mass before  fights was no longer called in because Manny no longer offered a  pre-fight Mass fight. So what now, Manny?

Aling Dionisia is asking her son to stop boxing and to return to the Roman Catholic religion. She said it again in an interview over ABS-CBN where Manny asked his mother to wait for him to come home to the Philippines this Thursday to discuss it.

I think Manny will have to do a lot of rethinking about his future in boxing and how he’s investing his earnings. If he wants to continue boxing he must concentrate on boxing only and not get distracted with other matters as well as train as scheduled by coach Freddie Roach.

The fourth epic fight had a sad ending, though many are still hopeful that it is not the end of Pacquiao and that he still has a bright future ahead in boxing.  But I would insist that Pacquiao rethink several times if he really wants to continue to box. Good Luck, Manny Pacquiao, whatever you decide.

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Senior  citizens in Cebu City were  so happy to receive their P4,000 cash gift from the  city government. Mayor Mike Rama made true his promise to give them a hefty cash gift for Christmas.  But the gift was accompanied with some controversy because the envelope containing the money carried the picture of the mayor.

The Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) is taking the mayor to task since he had earlier promised not to use the envelopes and the event to promote himself by having his photo or name on them.

But I think many of the senior citizens didn’t mind. What mattered to them was  that they got the money that would help them in their daily lives especially in buying maintenance medicines.

The BO-PK team is complaining about the mayor’s photo when they continue to litter the city with Type O and Jun Pe tarpaulins. I think Mayor Mike is just giving the BO-PK a dose of their own medicine.