Pacquiao has to enjoy the fruits of his labor

BAÑOC

One of the promising boxers who visited me in my radio program, Straight to the Point aired over DYHP RMN Cebu was Zeta Celestino Oliveros Gorres, best known as Z “The Dream” Gorres. He was a professional boxer with 31 wins out of 35 fights and 17 of which were won by technical knock-out.

His dream of gaining recognition accorded to the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Donnie Nietes and etc. was marred by a tragedy during his fight with Colombian super flyweight Luis Melendez in Las Vegas in 2009.

Gorres was ahead on points when with about 20 seconds remaining in the fight he took a left straight to the jaw from Melendez, went down and hit his head on the lower rope strand, causing fatal damage to his head.

He managed to beat the 10-count and finished the bout on his feet. He defeated Melendez via unanimous decision but collapsed in the ring a few seconds after his victory was announced.

He was immediately rushed to the hospital and underwent an emergency brain operation. Doctors removed a part of his skull to relieve the swelling of his brain.

That was the end of his boxing career.

What is more tragic is that few months after the said incidents, he and his four small children were being abandoned by his wife.

According to the report of boxing judge and sports analyst Edward Ligas, the old and poor mother ofGorres is the one who takes care of them now.

I pity Gorres for his fate. He is just one of the many boxers who had unfortunate experiences in the said risky contact sport.

I pray and wish that one day he could fully recover and could again function as a provider for his family.

As a fan of Pacqiauo, I do not want to see him suffering like that of Gorres.

In fact every time he climbs in the boxing ring I am one of those who always pray for him.

While it is true that he demonstrated his power against Argentinian Lucas Matthysse last Sunday, I observed that his lateral movements and foot works have already deteriorated. Good that Matthysse is just an easy target.

True that he still has the capacity to fight. But with his age, the risk is too high if he decides to fight more against the well-trained young fighters.

Pacquaio is already a legend in the field of boxing. He has billions of pesos as manifested in his 2018 SALN. In fact, he is the second richest senator in the country. So it’s time for him to enjoy the fruits of his labor.