By Ramonito O. Legaspi: While Cotto ran from Pacquiao’s attack and while Clottey hid his face with his turtle-shell defense, Antonio Margarito is a true blue warrior. He didn’t run from Pacquiao’s onslaught. He didn’t use a turtle-shell defense. But the blurring hand speed of the Pacman was too much for the slow punching Mexican Tornado. Margarito survived the whole 12 rounds. But unlike Clottey, his face was disfigured and suffered a right facial bone fracture.
Indeed, Pacquiao’s new set of skills has made his speed and power even more dangerous to his opponents. But these are just secondary factors that have made him an elite boxer. What has made him as such is his idealism. He wants to be the best that he can be. He remains a student of the sweet science of boxing. He listens to his trainer Freddie Roach and heeds his instructions. No wonder Freddie Roach believes Manny has not reached his peak yet. Manny does not think he has already learned every trick of the game. He continues to be an unassuming pugilist, open to his mentors’ wise advice.
His sense of idealism, therefore, sets him apart from most boxers. He always measures himself against his ideal. No matter how difficult it is to reach such level of excellence, Manny does not grow faint but pushes himself up above mediocrity. Even in his growing popularity, he never slides into complacency but continues to hold on to his ideal. While others lose their idealism as they grow older, he never loses his sense of idealism even as he matures.
Pacquiao’s sense of idealism is his saving grace. In his professional career, he has his own share of failures. His resume shows he has three loses. He received his first defeat from his compatriot Rustico Torrecampo by knocking Manny out in the third round. He tasted his second loss at the hands of Medgoen Singsurat of Thailand via third round knock out. In his first fight against Erik Morales, Pacquaio lost via unanimous decision. But Manny bounced back. He learned from his mistakes. And I surmise his idealism must have pulled him out of that three humiliating defeats. He had worked hard on his defense and right hook leading to his second encounter with Erik Morales. He battered Morales to submission with one-two-three combination. In their third fight, it was a walk in the park for Manny. He manhandled Morales easily.
Lehdwaba. Barrera. Larios. Morales. Diaz. Marquez.De la Hoya. Hatton. Cotto. Clottey. Margarito. With the exception of Marquez, these quality fighters he defeated easily. It appeared as such because Manny had worked hard in the gym prior to his fights. He perfected his offense in the gym. He worked hard on how to hit and not get hit. He worked on his lateral movement and his right hook with a controlled aggression. What he had learned in the gym, he employed on the fight night. And Manny is an intelligent fighter who can stick to his game plan and adjust if need be.
So in his recent outings, he boxed his way easily to victory because he worked hard in the gym. But is that all there is? His boxing skills, talents, and work ethic? No. Again, they are only secondary factors that have elevated him to such level of success. What makes him a great fighter is his idealism which is the major ingredient on his meteoric rise to global stardom. It is his idealism that sets his skills and boxing talent in the right direction. It is his idealism that guides his work ethic. It is his idealism too that has inspired millions of Filipinos. He sets an example of what it means to give his best and measure his progress against his ideal.
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