SENSE OF WINNINGABILITY

Manny Pacquiao’s loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in their recent face off in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on December 9th, Sunday, (Manila Time) has proven that there’s no monopoly of good luck in boxing.

The Filipino ring icon’s unprecedented record of winning eight titles in different weight classes makes him the Pound-for-Pound King in the world of boxing. Along with that coveted titles comes the prestige of being hailed as one of the best and refined fighters in the world. For this reason, many Filipinos have associated the monicker “Pacman” with the concept of “winningability.” For that longer span of years when Pacman has been undefeated (though defeated in two of his recent fights), the concept of winningability comes with the name Manny Pacquiao. So, in the mindset of the Filipinos, to the very least, it is expected that Pacman has to win in his every battle.

But, the recently-concluded Pacquiao-Marquez 4 has made us realized that the concept of winningability and the monopoly of good luck don’t go together much longer. They are separable by instances. At first, we thought of Marquez (being the challenger) as another prey of the predator Pacquiao. We might have had this prediction or analysis as to what round Pacman would knocked Marquez down. Yet, as it turned out, the compliments of time did go with Marquez.

The recent loss of Pacquiao could not directly put his boxing career at risks. It’s nothing compared to what he has accomplished so far. It’s still a long way to go. His KO to Marquez just proves us one thing–that boxing is indeed a sport. And like in any other sport, there’s only a thin line between winning and losing. For in the end, the true victor is defined on how he accepts defeat and how he respects his opponent on the ring.

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