Know when to quit, says Aquino

HIT YOUR target, but know when to quit.

This was President Aquino’s unsolicited advice to reigning WBO super bantamweight champ Nonito Donaire Jr. on the eve of title defense against Jorge Arce of Mexico.

The President said, in a nutshell, that everybody was given a chance to shine for a given time.

“The skill is not actually in the acting itself, but knowing when to leave,” said the President, when interviewed Thursday night in Malacañang.

“So when he achieves that, he gets out of the game safely, he has the foundations of a good family,” said the President, hoping that the “Filipino Flash” would achieve his dreams both in and out of the ring.

Mr. Aquino had earlier advised Manny Pacquiao to hang up his gloves and enjoy the fruits of his legendary boxing career, but was not heeded by the pound-for-pound king, who went to suffer a humiliating knockout loss to Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez last Sunday.

During a freewheeling chat with reporters late Thursday, Mr. Aquino saw a parallelism in the sterling rise of Donaire and regrettable fall of Pacquiao.

“He (Donaire) really strikes me as somebody who has a good soul, a good spirit. He has provided a role model, but hopefully, after he achieves his success, he also … knows when to step off,” said Mr. Aquino.

He advised Donaire that once “you’re on the top,” the Fil-Am boxer should not “gamble” his future, especially his health, and know when to quit.

The President said that he, too, was looking forward to stepping down on June 30, 2016, so that he could attend to personal matters such as finding his bride and raising a family.

The President appreciated Donaire’s public devotion to his mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, as the boxer had dedicated his previous fights for the late icon of democracy.

For his fight with Rafael Concepcion of Panama for the Interim WBA Superflyweight title, Donaire had requested the boxing equipment company Everlast to provide him with a yellow robe with the inscription “I. M. O. (in memory of) former President Cory Aquino.”

Donaire won the bout via a unanimous decision.