Pacquiao big, bigger than his President here

MACAU—The Clash in Cotai here on Sunday has all the makings of a modern-day play, a theater that could soon be worthy of a season in Broadway, or a remake in Hollywood.

Its core is the duel for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) International welterweight championship between Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines and Brandon Rios, a Mexican-American fighting out of Oxnard, California.

Other than supremacy in boxing though, this major sports presentation has other themes, sub-plots centering on a poor nation’s broken love affair with a God-loving superhero—a former national treasure—who has won world titles in a record eight separate divisions.

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Pacquiao, 34, a one-time hungry urchin who spent cold nights on a bare dirt floor, is here to regain his golden stature.

His new quest for sporting supremacy has however taken on a poignant twist following the unfathomable tragedy caused by death and devastation slammed by Supertypoon Yolanda on his beloved nation.

Pacquiao is here also to help lift the hopes and spirit of his countrymen.

That awesome mission could indeed be over-exaggerated if left in the hands of other aspirant heroes.

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Truth is that, more than the country’s slowfoot head of state, Pacquiao is possessed with surefire charm and credentials to re-inspire his whole nation.

There is no other living Filipino today who could assume Pacquiao’s unenviable position.

Of course, Pacquiao is an outstanding favorite to win on Sunday.

In the same breath though, it goes without saying the poor fellow can’t afford to lose.

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“No other fight of mine is bigger, more important than this one on Sunday,” Pacquiao told a group of mediamen during the press workout here on Tuesday morning.

Pacquiao, needless to say, must be able to return to his winning ways, following back-to-back failures last year.

A fall on Sunday, quite unlikely, could indeed slam into the spirit of his countrymen with the savagery of another major disaster.

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Forget that Pacquiao has been out of full-fledged battle for nearly a year, the longest time, in his spectacular career.

He must win, if just to send the message to his battered, exploited countrymen they could get back on their feet again.

He doesn’t have to be his country’s President in order to do this.