MIRACLES HAPPENED –  in this one short week.

In the last minute- Filipina drug-courier Mary Jane Veloso was spared the firing squad in Malaysia. In Manila in the PBA – Talk and Text survived the only double overtime in a Game 7th Finals 121-119. 

They say, also , miracles come in threes.  Will one third of the globe-  yet see the third miracle in the “Fight of the Century ” in Las Vegas, Nevada today? The small big man from GenSan who used to jog without shoes (due to poverty) is the virtual David- against the imposing Goliath, the loud mouth and the  bigger foe called Floyd Mayweather -the  Goliath.

That’s why Manny Pacquiao is the underdog : 2-1.

If Pacman wins– President Pnoy may yet declare a  national holiday tomorrow -and no one will begrudge him; even if he does not, people will do nothing except talk about the fight tomorrow instead of working. If there is a draw– a Richer Rematch – is in order- to the joy of everyone, including the BIR and the IRS.  If Floyd wins– there will be weeping and flooding in the streets and a country in a state of National Depression.

Today is a War of Two M’s – Money vs Manny.. It is a battle between  Good and Evil (we must warn all, though, that God sometimes allows evil to triumph for His Infinitely Wise Reasons). Manny is a Bible reader and soon to be pastor- Floyd obviously serves the Mammon with unrelenting pleasure.  Manny will part with his estimated P5.3_B earnings to tithes- meaning P530-M goes to charity and evangelization – Floyd is so worldly, he would fly his private jet just to see an NBA game in another state.

Manny is humble and cordial to all; Floyd’s vocabulary equals those of the thugs in the gambling casinos in Vegas. Manny is surrounded by family- from mother, wife and children -while Floyd has a father he had not spoken to in his first 14 fights as a professional pug and  himself convicted 5 times and imprisoned twice for domestic violence.

Three years ago – Manny met the Lord ,preceded by a dream The Voice asking him why he left Him. He has since  given up “drinking, gambling and womanizing”. Unlike -the worldly president Erap who once asked his dcotor: ” Doc, I have given up gambling, womanizing and drinking, do you think I will live longer?”. The doctor retorted: ” What for, Mr President?”. (Laughter).

But for Manny , his faith is not just for show.He lives what he speaks. He renounced all his vices -except,perhaps his dream to be “vice” president.  He is a man in a Mission. Every fight-he affirms his faith and trust in the Creator-and gives Glory to His Name. Floyd just counts his dollars- and flies to the Bahamas with chicks in tow.

Manny promised to talk “God” to Floyd after the fight. Floyd’s conversion will be the fourth miracle.

Manny is the typical ambivalent Filipino Christian. With much belief in their God but  also believe -in the same breath-  psychics, feng shui and tarot cards. Manny  is said to maintain an “amulet” taken from the sea many years ago., But – in the same vein, Pacquiao said his God will deliver  into his hands the man they named Floyd- partly because , Coach Freddie Roach  reasoned  because “that the American boxer is no role model”.

Should you,therefore, bet your hard-earned pesos on Manny today?

Patriotism can sometimes cloud one’s judgement in assessing the mega boxers fighting today. But that aside, this corner picks Manny Pacquiao to win by a convincing 12 round decision. What is our basis?

The Will to Win. Months ago, Floyd said he has lost interest in boxing-and was just finishing his fight contracts then hang up  his gloves. He had chosen  his foes wisely- and has  always been scared of Pacman, the Deadly Southpaw.It was the screams for the mega fight  all over the world and a questionable legacy if he didn’t box with Pacman  – that finally made Floyd agree to fight the Filipino pugilist.

Manny bent backwards on the random drug tests (he has been raided by testers 12 times already in this training. period alone) and   an inferior  60-40 % purse sharing -just to make the fight happen.  The day Pacman destroyed Golden Boy Oscar dela Joya in  into retirement in 2009 , Manny’s  camp’s obsession was to defeat Mayweather -and become this generation’s Greatest.

Close up  look  at the calves of Pacman – and they have never been as awesome like bronze firm  pistons when he moves and he has a wrist diameter of 8 inches – the same as  that of Mike Tyson, a superlative heavyweight champion. Floyd’s legs faltered in the last  Maldana fights recently, and his wrists rumored to be fractured so he went back to wood chopping to restore lost power. True?

Boxing greats have their picks, but  it matters not . What matters more is that among the five recent common foes of both fighters, except for Juan Manuel Marquez (Manny’s contra pelo), Pacman had more convincing wins than Floyd had  over Shane Mosley, Oscar de la Joya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto.

Mayweather is the more pressured fighter:  being the betting favorite and because of the  need to preserve his 0   loss record- to equal the record of the Great Rocky Marciano with  a 49-0 record. Manny is cool as cucumber because  as underdog  he has little less  to lose in this fight.

It’s on record that Floyd has had  a hard time with southpaws; we are sure the strategy is for Pacman to switch conventional to southpaw from time to time to confuse the Big Mouth. Since Pacman’s right is as hard as his left, that spells  nothing but trouble for Floyd.

Manny also throws more punches  than Mayweather-and the ratio of a hit increases with  sheer volume -and all recorded by a ring computer. Finally there is the Hall of Famer coach Freddie Roach  vs the Braggart Floyd Sr  whose similarities with his Junior is not only in their bad manners.

Today is Judgement Day, Will the Little Brown Man defeat the Ugly American? Your judgement is as good as ours.

For comments: email to dejarescobingo@yahoo.com or bohol-rd@mozcom.com