Read Manny First Before You Bet

The World Boxing Council exposes its own hidden agenda for making public its threat to strip Manny Pacquiao of his lightweight championship belt. Sometime last week, the WBC through President-for-life Jose Sulaiman, publicly humiliated Manny for charging that he runs away from his obligations, in particular the sanction fees he supposedly owes the WBC. The WBC also attempted to attract international sympathy for itself by insinuating that Manny—with what WBC has described as an arrogant gesture on his part—has made the boxing governing body look like a beggar and a belt mill.

With its public outburst, I think the WBC tried to accomplish two things. One, to project a regalian image before the boxing world, even at the expense of one of its own—the pound-for-pound king no less—champions. And two, to trap Manny into a squeezed set of options where he could end up fighting somebody outside of his choices.

The first objective is really understandable for anyone desiring to preserve itself. In a world where competition has become very intense, and in a sport that has become too money-oriented that is professional boxing, projecting an image where one stands out from the crowd is not only necessary. It is also a duty. And the WBC cannot be faulted for telling everyone that it still is the most prestigious among so many boxing organizations today.

(Incidentally, the so-called alphabet world boxing bodies that exist today emerged from opportunities presented by the bungling and injustices assumably committed by the pioneering organizations, namely the WBC and the World Boxing Association).

But WBC needed something big to project its image for impact. And what better way to present its case than drag Manny Pacquiao to the picture? That Manny has been presented in a not-so-pleasing light may have been totally fortuitous; the point was WBC needed something to re-advertise itself before the boxing world.

The second objective, in my opinion, is a high-risk proposition, and could very well indicate how desperate the WBC might have been in trying to map its future. If there was nothing suspicious about its schemes, one will notice that giving Manny a deadline within which to settle his supposedly outstanding obligations was not necessary. But the WBC did impose a deadline. Why?
If the WBC waited for Manny to make up his mind on whether to defend his lightweight title or not after his December 6 showdown with Oscar dela Hoya, Manny can have options in which the WBC might find itself irrelevant. Therefore it was important for the WBC to force Manny into making a decision before December 6.

I suspect the WBC considered these scenarios:

1) If Manny goes on to defy the odds and dish out a credible performance on December, Manny will have the luxury of choosing his career-ending opponent. This scenario can make the WBC dispensable and irrelevant.

2) If Manny is badly beaten by dela Hoya, he can descend to the lighter divisions where his options are limited and in which the WBC can impose its presence. For example, if Manny is "forced" to defend his lightweight title, he will have to abide by WBC rules. And abiding by them would include meeting the deadline it set a week ago.

It is clear which of the two scenarios would be to WBC's liking. The problem with the strategy that would force Manny to commit to a decision is that it has a high probability rate of going wrong. In an earlier post I mentioned that publicly shaming people in the Philippines (as it is in most of Asia) just doesn't work, and in more ways than one that's what the WBC did to Manny Pacquiao. A belligerent Pacquiao can always do a Lennox Lewis and dump his lightweight belt to the trash can. If he does this the WBC might as well kiss its designs goodbye.

But if Manny complies with the WBC deadline it can mean that his gut feel tells him something about the uphill battle he faces in Oscar dela Hoya. It can expose him as having his own doubts over his chances of coming out victorious in the biggest fight of his career. To his millions of fans edging to place their bets, this is suggestion enough for them to go slow with their money. No amount of braggadocio from coach Freddie Roach can change the will of a fighter who nurses the lightest of doubts at the back of his mind.

This is not to say that self-confidence alone is enough to win battles. But every success in a contest—as in life—begins with belief in oneself and the will to win. Basketball coach Pat Riley once said "that belief, focus and hard work do not guarantee you championships. But without them, you don't stand a chance."
----------------