A model in and off the ring

THE COMMENDABLE qualities of pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao shine like a beacon in the darkness of Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton’s video sniffing cocaine and the Las Vegas police report in which Floyd Mayweather Jr. was accused by the mother of his three children of pulling her off the couch in her home and beating her up and twisting her arm. Hatton’s drug problem was reportedly the obvious result of his inability to overcome the depression of his devastating second-round knockout at the hands of Pacquiao.
To some extent, this is understandable and simply means The Hitman needs understanding and help in rehabilitating himself and picking up the pieces of the good life he enjoyed.
Mayweather is an altogether different story.
For a fighter—who brags about his unchallenged ability in the ring and who used filthy language in a vicious, racially abusive rant against Pacquiao—to beat up a helpless woman demonstrated the coward that lurks within him.
As someone so pointedly stated, Mayweather is supposed to beat up men in the ring, not a poor woman lying asleep on a couch, with his despicable action even witnessed by their impressionable 10-year-old son.
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Pacquiao, for all his shortcomings, has never ever been known to trifle, even as a young man with a peer challenge, to try a mild drug just for kicks, and has certainly never been known to abuse a woman, let alone beat her up.
But beyond his commendable behavior in and outside the ring, one has to applaud Manny’s sense of responsibility—both to his profession as a prized fighter and a seven-division world champion and his legislative duties as a congressman from the lone district of Sarangani.
He manages his time between both passions, jogging in the morning, attending congressional committee hearings, and then training at the Elorde Gym in Quezon City so he would be close enough to the Batasan complex to attend the congressional sessions in the afternoon.
He obviously takes both responsibilities seriously because he knows that in his boxing career, which is winding down, he needs to set an example to other aspiring young Filipinos about the importance of a relentless training program and a disciplined approach to the challenges ahead.
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In the arena of public service, he realizes it is something he always wanted to do as a young man, and now that the people of Sarangani have given him a chance, he cannot afford to let them down.
It is simply amazing that, with all he has achieved including wealth, respect, admiration and national and international acclaim, Pacquiao remains the same humble, fun person who constantly speaks of his blessings as coming from God.
While he publicly acknowledged his sadness over the drug problem of Hatton and hoped he would get a hold of himself and turn his life around, he reminded Mayweather and those who care to listen, that God puts down those who are vile and unworthy of His blessings but lifts up those who are down and turn to Him for succor.