By Jesse Jose

A Cup O' Kapeng Barako 

K abog pala itong si "El Margarita, the Patsy-ta."  Ang laki-laking kabog.

So, once again Pakyaw made a punching bag of another Mexican windbag. And it was a coronation once more for Pakyaw. It happened in the eleventh round. Here's the way it was reported in parts by a mainstream sports writer, whose name I can't recall right now, who was actually at ringside to witness the karnehan of another Mexican:

"Manny with three hard shots! Manny to the body! Then to the head!  What an amazing performance. For those who know Manny Paquiao, this is amazing. He's taking a much, much bigger man apart at the seams. Margarita can't see anything coming at him. 

"PAKYAW IS TOO FAST, TOO GOOD, AND TOO MUCH.  JUST TOO DAMN MUCH...."

Too damn much, ha?  So, okey ngarud, in essence, this fight is, once again, another damn coronation for DA KING of Pakyawan.  He has won eight crowns now, right?  Wow! 

Yeah, bilib na 'ko....

In the Philippines, I can just imagine the crazy screaming there, the jubilance of the people and the lasingan in celebration of Pakyaw's victory.  The headlines of every newspaper and the write-ups of every sports writer and columnist perhaps screamed only one thing:: "Pakyaw is the greatest fighter in this world!  Pakyaw!  Pakyaw!  Pakyaw!"

Yeah, okay....

He's the toast of every town, of every kanto in every city, and every province in the Motherland.  His name perhaps is on everybody's lips and uttered in awe and reverence. And no doubt considered as a national hero, whose deeds are more heroic than those of Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo.    

And here in America, among many Fil-Ams, I am sure the glorification of Pakyaw's name is of the same vein. One Fil-Am columnist who I know even said that those people who doubted Pakyaw's skill and greatness as a boxer are "Doubting Thomases."

Naging Jesus Christ na rin pala si Pakyaw.  Can you imagine that?

Well, I suppose if Barack HUSSEIN Obama, can be dubbed the "Messiah" of Black-Americans and Muslim-Americans, then Pakyaw can be dubbed, too, as the "Messiah" of Filipinos and Filipino Americans.  I am a Filipino-American, but neither BHO nor Pakyaw would I consider to be my Messiah.  Heavens forbid!  

Pero ... yeah, okey ngarud, bilib na 'ko kay Pakyaw.

H ere in my beautiful city of Seattle, where I reside, on the day after the fight, I scoured the pages of our newspaper, The Seattle Times, for a write-up of Pakyaw's win over "El Margarita, the Mexican Patsy-ta." As I've said earlier and I want reiterate it, "kabog pala, to. Ang laki-laking kabog. Kaya, para sa akin itong si Margarita ay Panchita, I mean. Patsy-ta." Y'all get my drift?  El Margarita, the Mexican Patsy-ta. LOL and LMFAO, too. Yeah, I like to laugh at my dyoks. He who laughs at the world, the world laughs with him, di ba?

So, anyway, after a diligent search for a write-up of this fight, I found the story on Page 5 in the Sports section of our Seattle paper, located in the left-hand bottom corner of the page, next to an Erectile Dysfunction ad ... that reads in bold letters:

"Solve Erectile Dysfunction and Premature Ejaculation in one office visit!  Achieve Stronger and Lasting Erection When ED Pills Have Failed."  Then there's a photo, too, of a middle-age couple, caressing each other.  And the man saying: 'They were able to give me a treatment right in the office that immediately had me ready for action, if you catch my drift?'" 

Yeah, man, I catch your drift. But wait until you are in a motel room and bang away. Use it or lose it, ika nga. Me? I've found my cure, too. It's called Levitra.  No more so called erectile dysfunction for me.  And of course, I use it a lot, coz I don't wanna lose it. You catch my drift, too, bro'? 

So anyway, that's how I found the story of the fight, because my eyes found first that ED ad. And when my eyes drifted left, there at last was the story of the fight I was diligently looking for. It had an Associated Press/The New York Times byline on it. But I think it was written by a Filipino sports writer. Kasi, it was written in awe of Pakyaw. It read something like this: 

“Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines more than made up with speed what he lacked in size. Giving away both pounds and inches, he turned Antonio Margarito into a bloody and nearly-blind fighter with a dizzying array of punches ... ”

With each round, Margarito's face worsened.

Seventh round, left eye closed.

Eigthth round, bleeding from nose.

Ninth round, left cheek bruised.

Tenth round, fight nearly stopped.

Eleventh round, Paquiao kept glancing at the referee, almost pleading for him to stop the slaughter.

Twelfth round, Paquiao took mercy, punching rarely, allowing "El Margarita, the Patsy-ta" to finish on his feet.

In a interview after the fight, Pakyaw said, "Yeah, I took it easy on him ..." Pakyaw took it easy on El Margarita? That's awesome. Pakyaw then is a good man. A kind-hearted man in a brutal sport.  A very strong man, yet ... a gentle man. For that, I, too, join in to the cheering for this man. 

Yeah ... okey ngarud, bilib na 'ko kay Pakyaw.  JJ

Editor’s Note: Despite his victories in boxing, some people still consider some other Filipinos as bigger contemporary heroes than Manny Pacquiao. Consider this article, A Sorsoganon OFW Appears to Be a Bigger Hero than Manny Pacquiao: How the ReVOTElution Will Protect OFWs and their History