Manny Pacquiao acknowledges the cheers just after his victory over Timothy Bradley during their WBO World Welterweight championship boxing match at The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Eric Jamison)
Victims of devastating calamities in the Visayas still struggling to recover from their losses rejoiced with the victory of their boxing idol, Manny Pacquiao.
For a few hours, victims and survivors in Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, and Iloilo temporarily forgot their lost or damaged houses and their harrowing ordeal brought by the massive earthquake and supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan) as they cheered for the Filipino boxing icon.
Except for a drunk man who made a scene at the Cebu Coliseum just after Pacquiao’s victory over Timothy Bradley, there was no other crime recorded in Cebu City between 8 a.m. and past 1 p.m. yesterday.
“Pacman brought peace in Cebu City,” said Chief Insp. Romeo Santander, chief of the Cebu City Police Office Intelligence Branch.
The celebration at the Cebu Coliseum immediately after ring announcer Michael Buffer declared Pacquiao as the winner by unanimous decision was cut short after the drunk man took the satellite digital decoder, cutting off the live showing of the fight and to the dismay of the crowd who wanted to see Pacquiao’s post-match interview.
According to Jimby Amili, a staffer of the cable TV provider where the coliseum was hooked up, the unidentified man climbed onto the stage and disconnected the wiring of the digital decoder box just as Pacquiao was fielding questions in the post-fight interview.
Amili said he tried to pacify the man who allegedly tried to attack him. This prompted him to hit the man with a plastic chair. “Ako na lang gi-unhan kay murag sumbagon man ko niya (He was about to punch me so I hit him with the chair),” said Amili.
The commotion sent some spectators running to the exit, triggering a near stampede. The coliseum’s security personnel immediately rushed in and subdued him.
The tension immediately fizzled out when the drunk man repeatedly kissed the security staffer who was escorting him. “Doctor ko! Wa koy sala! Buotan kong tawo! (I’m a doctor! I did not do anything wrong! I’m a good man!),” the man shouted as his daughter tried to silence him by covering his mouth.
Police later placed him under arrest and took him to the Cebu City Medical Center for an alcohol test.
Masses
Despite earlier appeals of church leaders to boxing fans not to miss Mass because of the boxing match, there was still a drop in churchgoers at the Sto. Rosario Parish in Cebu City during the 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Mass.
Parish secretary Neneth Canonigo said the number of churchgoers decreased by at least 30 percent. She said the central area of the church was filled, but the left and right wings were not occupied unlike the usual Sundays where the entire church was full.
Bohol
In Tagbilaran City in Bohol, barangay gyms resounded with roars and cheers as Pacquiao defeated Bradley. The city government paid for the showing of the boxing match in 15 barangays, according to Mayor John Geesnell Yap.
“It was exciting. Wala lang na-knock down but it’s okay. We got the victory,” Yap said in an interview.
Bohol was the worst hit by the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck in October 2013.
As in past Pacquiao fights, villages and communities stood still and the crime rate was down. Bohol Provincial Police Office spokesman, Supt. Joie Yape, said there were no reported crimes in the province as of 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
Still on top
Cebu’s boxing personalities said Pacquiao’s win was a clear sign that the Filipino boxing icon is still at the top of his game.
ALA Promotions chief Michael Aldeguer, promoter of WBO lightflyweight champion Donnie “Ahas”Nietes and former WBO minimumweight champion Merlito “Tiger” Sabillo, said Pacquiao put up a great performance that left Bradley clueless.
“I was concerned that he had difficulty knocking Bradley out but that was because Bradley came to survive, not to fight,” Aldeguer said. “If Bradley came to fight, a knockout for Pacquiao would have been possibile and that would have been a much more decisive win for Pacquiao. I am happy that he is already back on track and that’s a great sign for Philippine boxing.”
WBO International referee and boxing analyst Danrex Tapdasan said Bradley surprised Pacquiao by being extra aggressive in the early rounds, but Pacquiao’s ring excellence stood out as he showed poise and composure.
“Bradley stayed on his aggressive self too long and Pacquiao was able to figure him out. It looked like Bradley was desperate to score one big punch and win by a spectacular knockout like what Marquez did in December 2012.
However, that proved a wrong game plan as he played on Pacquiao’s hands and it became a routine boxing display for the Pambansang Kamao,” Tapdasan said. “Pacquiao is back on track to becoming a superstar again. He proved that he is intelligent, well-conditioned and still the same ring warrior that once became the best fighter in the planet.”