De La Hoya ‘will beat’ Pacquiao

God forbid – PacMan forever but Manny, please, be careful out there, the Golden Boy is one tough hombre

De La Hoya will beat Pacquiao.

That’s the biggest fear in the minds of Filipinos this year, bigger than the fear of the peso-dollar rate not reaching 50-1, bigger than the fear of a resurgent Muslim insurgency in Mindanao, bigger than the fear of killer storms and killer inter-island ships, bigger than the fear of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo somehow finding a way to run for president in 2010, or worse, Joseph “Lalo Tayong Maghihirap Erap” Estrada vying for the same seat, bigger than the fear of the oil, rice, and Iraq-Iran-Afghanistan crisis put together.

It’s only boxing but we love it. With too few things to be happy and optimistic about, at least with Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao we have reason to be hopeful. Whoever first dubbed him Pambansang Kama-o or National Fist is a genius. And whoever (everyone has this feeling it was Bob Arum) came up with the idea of pitting little Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao against “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya in a big-money fight is a mercenary.

PacMan, at 5-feet-7 or thereabouts and perhaps 150 pounds when not watching his weight, taking on a decidedly taller 5-10 ½ Golden Boy who could naturally balloon to 175lbs when he downs too many tacos and doesn’t scrimp on tequila, is like a wide-eyed first-grader standing up to a polished fourth-grade bully. OK, defiance has its merits, but not when you could get beaten to a pulp. Live to fight another day is way smarter than no guts no glory.

Moving up five pounds to 135lbs to pound out a decisive TKO victory over erstwhile WBC lightweight champ David Diaz, Pacquiao was on top of the world, a celebrity in such lofty firmaments that even newly-crowned NBA champions the Boston Celtics mobbed Pacquiao for photo ops. In fighting De La Hoya, Pacquiao will add another 12lbs for their match at 147lb, the heaviest Pacquiao will be as a pro. In some (actually, many) quarters they're saying that the move is ill advised for Pacquiao.

Not many will question Pacquiao’s courage and smarts. He did show he could be a sucker to a sly businessman’s promises. And definitely no one will doubt De La Hoya’s business acumen. From being an Olympic boxing gold medalist, media monster, world boxing champion many times over, and a big-time boxing promoter, roll all of these into one and you have Oscar Gonzalez De La Hoya. That’s not to count Grammy-nominated recording star and playboy.

The nation of Mexico and the vast Mexican community in the US put De La Hoya on a pedestal, but their breadth of idolatry for Golden Boy pales in comparison to that of Filipinos' hero worship for Pacquiao. PacMan is the kind of national hero that Golden Boy will never be. PacMan bears the expectations and hopes of a whole downtrodden nation, archipelagic and abroad, that clutches at anything that resembles Filipino international achievement. Golden Boy bears the expectations of his accountants.

This fight is not about pride, it is about money. Lots of it. How much exactly is up to speculation. We have been fed figures of 65-35 sharing in favor of appropriately enough -- the Golden Boy. A disparity, perhaps, but all things considered including the current US dollar-Philippine peso exchange rate, that’s a lot of campaign funds for governor/congressman wannabe PacMan. Whatever De la Hoya wants to do with his share is up to him. We, the “once-great” (remember “this nation can be great again” quip by someone we still remember?) Filipino Malayan race is collectively concerned with our national fist. There are not many like him in supply. In fact, he is the only one we got. Boom-Boom Bautista proved to be a bust and is now reduced to fighting Mexican throwaway boxers that promoters won’t stop advertising as “world-rated” and “one of the best” this and that. AJ Banal was just as big a disappointment as Bautista, so were Rodel Mayol and Z Gorres.

PacMan doesn’t grow on trees. He is an aberration, a rebellious gene that fought neighborhood bullies or maybe was a bully himself. He knew he was good with his fists and he built his life on these. He grew up in poverty, worked for a living, learned to warm his stomach on a cup of cheap coffee and just-as-cheap pan de sal.

Pancho Villa, Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, Rolando Navarette, Luisito Espinosa, the list grows of past and present heroes who flirted with the title Greatest Filipino Boxer Of All Time. Some still vie for that honor; some have fallen on the wayside with the footnotes.

Manny Pacquiao could still prove to be the best Pinoy pug there ever was -- if he keeps on winning. If he starts losing, starting with De la Hoya, his star will dim and fall just as fast as it rose. We never tire of being told: “Boxers are only as good as their last fight.”

Here’s hoping that Pacquiao-De La Hoya I will not be the beginning of the end for our National Fistic Treasure. Go PacMan! Yes, but go with care.

P.S. We love you.
P.P.S. Win or lose we will always love you…maybe.