I picked up a copy of the January 2019 issue of the London magazine Boxing Monthly at a Barnes and Noble store in Las Vegas the other day and WBA welterweight champion Sen. Manny Pacquiao was on the cover. The publication’s main stories were on Pacquiao battling an “unseen enemy” and on IBF superflyweight titlist Jerwin Ancajas’ “tough road to the top.” It’s a rarity that a foreign boxing magazine will run two big stories on Filipino fighters in the same issue but with the recent upswing in the affairs of Philippine boxing, it’s not surprising.
Last year, two Filipinos figured in two separate fights for the world title, Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire were back on the throne, Vic Saludar won the WBO minimumweight belt (he retained it via a unanimous decision over Japan’s Masataka Taniguchi in Tokyo the other night), GAB hosted the highly successful WBC Asian Summit and third Women’s Convention and Donnie Nietes claimed his fourth crown in a fourth division. The year ended with eight reigning Filipino world champions, including two on an interim basis. More and more Filipinos are knocking on the door that could lead to a world title, a sign that the outlook is bright for the country in the sport. A new Golden Era in Philippine boxing is dawning.
In the magazine, writer Ron Borges said Pacquiao’s “unseen enemy” and “toughest foe” is time. “The more formidable opponent he now faces is the calendar,” said Borges. “It remains undefeated. It is the opponent Pacquiao now must fear most. Few have been a finer practitioner of this fistic dance than Pacquiao. Winner of world titles in a record eight weight classes, Pacquiao has been among the best and most popular fighters in the world for well over a decade. Even at 40 years old, he remains, to an extent at least, both today. Yet, sadly, the end for most boxers and most especially the greatest ones, is too often a repetition. It is a repetition of a blues song sung about skills diminished, reflexes slowed and eyes blind to the obvious ravages of time and battle. At the end, reactions come too late and hands move too slowly until the eventual night arrives when boxing makes clear it no longer smiles upon the fighter as it once did. Most fighters, great or not, finish beaten by some young kid who has no idea this, too, is part of the repetition of a boxer’s life.”
Borges said the downfall of many great champions has been their enduring love and passion for boxing. “They fight too long because there is no other place where they feel so alive,” he said. “The challenge of facing an assault and answering it as the crowd hollers your name is intoxicating. Too often, it is also blinding.”
Borges, however, isn’t tuned into Pacquiao’s mind. Pacquiao will be the first to acknowledge if the end of his career is near. He has so much to live for that he wouldn’t endanger his future by taking unnecessary risks in the ring. Pacquiao isn’t just a boxer. He’s also a public servant with an impressive track record of performance and a bright future as a politician. There is so much more he can do for his country and countrymen that he wouldn’t jeopardize that goal by fighting beyond his best competitive years.
But one thing is certain. Pacquiao has his sights set on a rematch with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. “In Pacquiao’s eyes, (Adrien) Broner was a way station he had to visit to get into the ring with his great nemesis,” wrote Borges. “Mayweather is, in many ways, the real reason Pacquiao is still fighting, for he wants nothing more than to avenge his loss to Floyd three years ago, something he readily admits. What he won’t admit is the idea that he ever lost to Mayweather in the first place.”
Then there’s the story on Ancajas entitled “Pretty Amazing.” Writer Craig Scott said Ancajas trained under a mango tree in the Philippine jungle and became a world champion. Scott wrote about Ancajas’ hard road to glory, training in unglamorous conditions and agreeing to a small purse for the chance to win a world title. Now, Ancajas has his own training digs called Survival Camp in Magallanes, Cavite and Scott said Ancajas owes a lot to his manager Joven Jimenez for guiding him to succeed.