Pinoy boxers
punishing Mexicans

The Mexicans must be getting exasperated with the Filipinos. Not only have their best boxers been brought to their knees by Pinoys, even their up-and-coming ones were again defeated soundly by our boys this week. Again in Las Vegas, at the Orleans Hotel this time, Czar Amonsot beat Mexican Cristian Favela in the Jr. lightweight division, while Z Gorres (only Pinoys choose names like those), made short work of Jose Alfredo Tirado, also of Mexico in super lightweight.

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Reports said Gorres won by unanimous decision after the tenth round, while Amonsot got it after the eighth. Sports news also said that, earlier, another boxer from the Philippines, Rodel Mayol, had also won over Lorenzo Trejo, again a Mejicano. That is probably why the promoters of the disgraced Erik Morales, who had to eat the boasts he made before his encounter with Manny Pacquiao, are so anxious to have a rematch between the two. It's not only the dollars, they also want to recover the pride of Mexico.

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By the way, the tragedy that ensued from the stampede at the Ultra where hundreds were hurt and 79 (or is it 81?) were killed, brought back what I had noticed in the Thomas and Mack Center, which is in the campus of the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, during the Pacquiao-Morales fight. Before and during the bouts, hawkers were going up and down the tiers offering "ice-cold beer" and soft drinks in bottles. I observed that here, in Bacolod, we are not allowed to bring soft drink bottles inside movie houses, especially if you are watching from the balcony section.

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The sight of the bottles at the center got me a bit worried, especially because the tension among the Filipinos and the Mexicans was so palpable. What would happen in case a "pikon" from either side got so riled up that he would throw a bottle, or hit someone during the fight? Even from where we sat, we were already looking daggers at the Mexicans who booed when we shouted "Pacquiao, Pacquiao" or "Manny, Manny!" although we did the same when when they called out "Morales, Morales!" Fortunately, nothing untoward happened, and maybe the sight of so many cops or security men moving around was a deterrent.

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Would the Ultra tragedy have been averted if there had been enough police or blue guards to maintain order? It now looks as if too much finger-pointing is taking place - the cops say the ABS-CBN should have ensured security and safety, the media entity feels the cops should have been there, considering that such a big crowd had gathered. So now we are seeing so many agencies wanting to probe, and the latest is Madame Senator Miriam Santiago declaring that it is the Senate that should do it. Well, yes, especially because the Senate has not been too much in the news lately, except for twitting those involved in the so-called fertilizer scam. Let's see how all the interested cooks will produce the broth this time.

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Meanwhile, as the TV group is getting its bearings after the unbelievable turn of events in its much publicized programs, print media has been going to town with all the sob stories it can gather from the survivors and families of those who lost their lives. It seems what we used to be warned about in journalism school about invasion of privacy is no longer practised now. Maybe ethics professors have given up on it already, since the American and British media, whose practices our own like to match, are all doing it anyway.

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Also sad are the stories about the Egyptians whose decrepit ferryboat had caught fire and sank in the Red Sea. So far, about two hundred bodies only have been recovered, some 800 or more are missing, with few survivors. What is deplorable about the incident is that, as narrated by survivors, the crew of the boat did nothing to help them, in fact, they were even advised to take off their life jackets. Worse, the captain himself jumped off and paddled away in a lifeboat, leaving his screaming passengers behind. Up to yesterday, the vile one has not been found yet. But he'll probably wish he had sank and died with them if ever he is found. Isn't it a truism that the captain is supposed to be the last to leave his ship? Another one says that rats are the first to desert a sinking ship.*

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