Some senators dismayed by WBO review of Pacquiao-Horn match

Jeff Horn, left, of Australia and Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines fight during their WBO World welterweight title bout in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, July 2, 2017. Pacquiao lost his WBO welterweight world title to Horn in a stunning, unanimous points decision in the Sunday afternoon bout billed as the Battle of Brisbane in front of more than 50,000 people. (Photo by TERTIUS PICKARD / AP)

Some colleagues of Sen. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao expressed their dismay at the results of the recent scoring review conducted by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) that declared Australian Jeff Horn as the clear winner.

“Yun ang tingin nila eh, ang tingin ng karamihan hindi,” Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said in an ambush interview on Tuesday. “Karamihan ng mga komentarista, boxing aficionados, hindi eh. I don’t know what their gauge was.”

(“That’s what they think, but majority of the people disagree with them. Most of the commentators and boxing aficionados disagree with them.”)

The WBO re-examined the fight after Pacquiao and Games and Amusement Board, the Philippine government’s sports regulatory body, blasted the referees and the judges and demanded a review after the senator lost in Brisbane on July 2.

Pacquiao said the WBO’s decision no longer surprised him.

READ: WBO review rules Horn beat Pacquiao

For his part, Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara said that the WBO had to uphold its decision because it credibility was at stake.

“Siyempre kailangan nila panindigan yung pagkakamali nila,” Angara said. “Once binawi nila yun, magkaka-issue. Yung credibilidad nila apektado.”

(“Of course, they have to stand by their mistake. If they retract that decision, there will be issues and their credibility will be affected.”)

“Nakakita ka na ba ng WBO na nagsabi na ang dapat nanalo ay yung kabila? I’m not aware of any case or any fight na sinabi nila nagkamali yung mga judges nila,” he added.

(“Have you witnessed the WBO say that the winner is the other party? I’m not aware of any case or any fight where they said that their judges were wrong.”)

Some senators came to their colleague’s defense when asked to comment regarding the criticisms being thrown at the neophyte senator.

Former Sen. Rene Saguisag recently criticized Pacquiao, saying that the boxer-turned-politician continued with his training despite reports that the Maute terrorist group had slipped into Sarangani, Pacquiao’s home province.

READ: Ex-Senator Saguisag slams lawmakers for lame stance on martial law

But Sen. Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV believes that Pacquiao succeeded in juggling his duties at the Senate and his boxing career.

“Siguro nung congressman siya. Pero ngayon, as a Senator, hindi naman siya naga-absent at present naman siya sa mga investigations. Nagspo-sponsor siya. Nagi-interpellate siya,” Trillanes said in an interview.

(“Maybe it was different when he was a congressman. But now, as a senator, he is rarely absent and he is present during investigations. He sponsors, he interpellates.)

“He is active, kumpara nga dun sa iba na wala namang second profession, pero hindi niyo naman maririnig yung boses. I believe, ginagampanan niya yung kanyang trabaho,” he added.

(“He is active, compared to others who do not have a second profession but you barely hear their voices. I believe that he is able to do his job”.)

Sen. Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian also expressed his support towards Pacquiao.

“I was rooting for Senator Manny,” Gatchalian said.

“Nakita ko yung dedication niya sa trabaho niya and he really tried to manage his time in both the boxing profession and here in the Senate (I saw his dedication in his work),” he added.

The topic of the boxer-turned-politician’s retirement from his sports career drew mixed reactions from the senators.

The senators all agreed, however, that Pacquiao’s retirement would be entirely up to him.

Sotto encouraged Pacquiao to challenge Horn to a rematch, especially since Pacquiao, Sotto jokingly added, would earn “billion dollars per fight.”

Angara, for his part, said that he would “respect” whatever Pacquiao’s decision would be.

“Iba yung kondisyon ni Manny. Manny is not an ordinary 39-year-old. Yung katawan niya pang-trenta lang,” Angara said.  “Kung feeling niya kaya niya, rerespetuhin ko yun dahil siya lang nakakaalam talaga kung kaya niya.”

(“Manny’s physical condition is different. Manny is not an ordinary 39-year-old. His body is that of a 30-year-old. If he feels that he can still do it, I will respect that because he alone knows if he can still do it.”)

Trillanes affirmed that he remained a “boxing fan of Manny” and recalled the time when he was in detention the latter’s fights brought him “joy and pride every time.”

“Si Senator Pacquiao lang ang makakasagot niyan – kung kaya niya o hindi na niya kaya. Ako, I believe, kung kaya pa niya, sige lang lumaban pa siya kasi he should continue to make our countrymen proud,” Trillanes said.

(“Only Senator Pacquiao can answer that – whether he could still do it or not. For me, I believe that if he could still do it, he should keep fighting because he should continue to make our countrymen proud.”)

Gatchalian advised Pacquiao to “really analyze” if he could manage two big responsibilities – being a boxer and being a senator.

“As a friend, I would really advise Senator Manny to think about itong dalawang mabigat na trabaho,” Gatchalian said. “Senate is not an easy task. Napakabigat nung pressure. And he has to really analyze kung kaya ba talagang i-manage yung dalawang napakalaking responsibility.”

(“As a friend, I would really advise Senator Manny to think about these two difficult jobs. Senate is not an easy task. The pressure is too great. And he has to really analyze if he could manage these two big responsibilities.”)

“So, it’s really up to him now to assess his time and his capability and also the efforts he is putting in these two big responsibilities,” he added. “But it’s really time to assess. Ganitong disruptions sa buhay mag-assess talaga tayo kung ano yung landas na gusto nating puntahan (With disruptions in life like this one we really need to assess what path we would like to follow).” –Airei Kim Guanga, INQUIRER.net intern /atm