MANILA, Philippines—Unlike the coming of the New Year—may 2009 be glorious for you all, dear friends—the decision by the young boxer tagged as Marvelous Pacquiao to remain amateur is not irrevocable.

Yes, whether Dodie Boy Peñalosa Jr., an extremely promising kid, would stay indefinitely in the amateur backyard will be known only after the holidays.

Peñalosa Jr., two-time national champion and unbeaten in 16 bouts, did show up for a big outing at the Mandaluyong Coliseum last Saturday.

That bout was initially drummed up as his pro debut.

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Sorry about that, but some well-meaning souls beat the deadline and prevented the rush-rush ride to the pros by the heir to Dodie Boy Peñalosa Sr., the limping two-time world champion.

Instead of a pro partner, the boy was made to square off against an off-form amateur substitute.

As could only be expected, there was no contest.

Dodie Boy stopped the sloppy, overweight partner in the second of a scheduled four-round amateur bout.

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The boy did not readily turn pro.

But it won’t be right to say he did not earn his spurs.

OK, they put on head gears and donned extra thick gloves.

Just the same, Dodie Boy Jr. wore down and stopped the other fellow with methodical blows to the body.

He definitely has power in his left fist, maybe the same axe Manny Pacquiao had used in his younger campaign.

In fact, keen-eyed experts at ringside, headed by sportsman Rudy Salud, founding secretary-general of the World Boxing Council, could only nod in glee.

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Señor Salud was next heard swooning the newest among the Fighting Peñalosas has what it takes to be great.

Salud, by the way, would surely deny this.

But he was instrumental in momentarily halting Dodie Boy Jr.’s trip to the pros.

Salud, for one, has been against rushing very promising fighters, like Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista, into the dollar-rich prizefight world.

Salud has always insisted that, good and promising as Filipino warriors are, they still need to mature properly before stepping into the big time.

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Otherwise, these promising fighters could get scorched under the immense, intense Las Vegas sun.

Another thing: it’s unfair to suspect Dodie Boy Jr.’s elders had been lured by the promise of great money in offering the boy to the pros.

For one, the boy is a second-year engineering student.

Meaning he could pursue a saner, more secure career.

But, try hard as the father did, the boy could not be weaned away from the fight ring.

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Here’s the bigger point.

Repeat: it’s not fame and fortune his elders had dreamt of when they first tried to take Dodie Boy Jr. from the amateurs.

“Wala namang maaasahan (It’s hopeless out there),” rued World Boxing Organization bantamweight champion Gerry Peñalosa, the boy’s uncle, about the past failed leadership in the national amateur boxing association.

Gerry, however, says they’ve been assured of sane, strong support by the new leaders in the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP).

Gerry says they are set to sit down with sports patron cum laude Manny V. Pangilinan after the holidays.

Gerry says that Pangilinan, speaking from Hong Kong, has vowed win-win changes in the national amateur boxing setup.

Isn’t that great as starting the boxing year with a big KO?