Edicio dela Torre

Manny Pacquiao’s decisive demolition of Antonio Margarito, coupled with the compassion he showed in the last rounds, has drawn world wide praise, and it’s well deserved: A gentleman-boxer. World class.

Benjie Pimentel , writing in the Inquirer, expressed what many Filipinos thought after celebrating Manny’s performance in the boxing arena:

“Manny Pacquiao’s victory…proved he can push well beyond the zone most in the boxing world expected him to stay within. And that’s what makes him special for Filipinos… He showed he can push the limits. If the world’s most famous Filipino can break through massive barriers, why not the rest of the nation?”

Some years ago Doris Magsaysay-Ho said something similar. She had invited me to help in “culture-building” among the seafarers placed on various ships by Magsaysay Maritime Company. “I like them to be both global and Filipino,” she said. They have to meet global standards, but not lose their being Pinoy, whatever that means. But their being Pinoy must meet global standards.

My other commitments limited my engagement with Magsaysay then; just some meetings and training sessions. But I would recommend that they look into Manny Pacquaio’s story as a source of lessons about becoming “Global Pinoy.”

Let’s start with Benjie’s description of Manny’s: “Beyond boxing, Manny’s greatest appeal is that he comes across as a nice guy, a humble dude, the everyday Pinoy, the working class probinsyano with a good heart.”

“It’s fascinating to learn that Pacquiao, when facing a bigger opponent, sometimes spends the first minutes of the fight actually letting his adversary hit him, just to test how strong he is.

That shows that Pacquaio has always been a smart fighter. He’s fast and powerful. But he can also quickly size up an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, just moments into their encounter, and make the necessary adjustments.”

In one of our discussions in Magsaysay, we talked of the Pinoy “diskarte.” Pressed for an English equivalent, I coined a mock-intellectual phrase “contextual wisdom.”

There’s no doubt that Manny’s global success owes a lot to his own native and personal qualities – courage and daring, willingness to train hard, diskarte on the ring, his speed, strength, and stamina.

But it is equally true that these starting qualities have been developed and honed to global standards especially with the help of Freddie Roach. Through his tutelage, Manny developed his defense. In addition to his powerful left hook, he developed an equally lethal right. And he has learned more – studying his opponent’s past bouts, and adopting an appropriate fight strategy.

Even Manny’s post-fight and pre-fight interviews reflect adjustments to both his Philippine and global audience, while retaining the essence of being Manny.

Being “global” means being marketed globally. There is no question that even with his greatly improved skill, Manny wouldn’t be as famous if he were not promoted by seasoned global promoters, who know the market and have the connections and cunning to compete in it.

There’s some similarity to the way Charice’s native talents have been honed by mentors  and marketed to become globally recognized.

Benjie Pimentel writes: “The hope is that Pacquiao will be just as smart in the new arenas he is wading into as he wraps up his boxing career.

Especially in politics.”

He quotes Manny Pacquaio’s Spiderman mantra: “With great power comes responsibility. You can’t have one without the other.”

And ends with a shared thought: “Now, if only the powerful men and women he has started to hang out with in the Batasan would also see it that way.”