Pacquiao reminds boxers about the dangers of their profession

There’s more to boxing than proper training, perseverance and hard work.

According to champion pugilist Manny Pacquiao, before everything else, one must first realize the dangers inherent to the sport and that they have to be ready for anything.

“Kung akala nila biro-biro lang ang boxing, no. Napakahirap ng boxing, puwede kang mamatay diyan,” said he in an interview with GMA News.

Pacquiao’s concern is highlighted with boxer Karlo Maquinto having fallen into a coma after his fight with an unheralded opponent Saturday.

Maquinto is still recuperating at the Far Eastern University Memorial Hospital as of this writing, with attending physicians still wait for further development.

This is not the first time that a local boxer has been put in such a quandary.

In 2009, rising boxer Z Gorres had to undergo surgery to remove a blood clot that formed in his head after winning in a 10-round bout held in Las Vegas.

Gorres was placed in an induced coma with no assurance of complete revitalization. He was able to come home only after three months of rehabilitation.

According to Gerardo Legaspi, a neurosurgeon, cases of patients gaining full recovery of their faculties under such circumstances are very low.

“Kapag umabot sa punto na ang utak ay ipit na ipit na at napunta sa coma [ang pasyente] ku-konti sa 10 % ang nakaka-recover dito,” said he in a separate interview with “24 Oras.”

Meanwhile, the Game and Amusement Board (GAB) claims that their hands are tied on getting indemnity for boxers, admitting that insurance companies are hesitant to cover them.

And there’s the question of “budget.”

“Ang games and amusement board walang budget diyan sa mga insurance ng boxers,” Monju Guanzon, GAB Chairman revealed in an earlier GMA report.

All that said, not a few brave young men from all over the archipelago face such conditions year in and year out in the hopes of surpassing, or at least equaling, the Pacquiao’s success.

But that said, Pacquiao only has one advice for wannabe boxers: “Mag-isip-isip sila.”

He added, “Hindi pupuwede sa isang boksingerong lumaban ng walang ensayo, na hindi handa sa kung anuman ang mangyari.”

The boxer went on to admit that at this point he is now mulling retiring his boxing gloves, eager as he is to concentrate on his political plans.

“Sinabi ko naman ng mag-go-gobernardor ako ng Saranggani. So, mag-focus tayo sa trabaho natin,” he quipped.

By NEIL RAMOS