by ALEX P. VIDAL
SAN DIEGO, California–Filipino Olympian Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco Jr. joined the Team Pacquiao as guest during “The Battle of the East and West” in Las Vegas, Nevada for two weeks but his presence hardly made any impact compared to 13 years ago when he was the toast of Philippine sports. Onyok Velasco brought home the silver medal in boxing in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, 32 years after the Tokyo Olympics where Anthony Villanueva won silver medal in boxing like Onyok.
“Parang nakalimutan na si Onyok at ang karangalan na ibinigay niya sa bansa”, (It seems they have forgotten Onyok and the glory he brought to the country), observed another former Filipino Olympian who is now based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The Vancouver-based former Olympian said he sensed that nobody was interested to even say hello to the diminutive Velasco who was seen most of the time wandering in the casino hall alone in Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino where Team Pacquiao was billeted from April 27 until May 3.
Some Philippine politicians who came to watch Manny Pacquiao shoot for Ricky Hatton’s International Boxing Organization (IBO) light welterweight on May 2 at the MGM Grand reportedly ignored Velasco deliberately as they were all enmeshed on Pacquiao.
“Thirteen years ago, they were the same politicians who were in mad scramble to have souvenir photos with Onyok when he was invited to the House of Representatives,” former House chief of staff Florentino Escudero said. “They are now afraid to come near Onyok probably because they made promises that were never fulfilled.”
Some of the alleged unfulfilled promises of politicians who were mostly legislators were a lifetime pension and a house and lot for the Bago City-native Velasco, now 35, who narrowly lost to Bulgarian Daniel Petrov Bojilov in the light flyweight finals during the Atlanta Olympics, USA.Velasco, for his part, admitted his popularity has waned now that Pacquiao has become a global sports icon. Only his former coach, 1976 Montreal Olympics quarter-finalist Reynaldo Fortaleza, gave him special attention during the Pacquiao-Hatton 12-round fisticuff.
Fortaleza said Velasco was among the best amateur boxers ever produced by the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) under the tutelage of the Lopez father son, Gemeliano and Manny, who both served as presidents, respectively.
Velasco, whose elder brother Roel earlier copped the bronze medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, was treated as national hero as many government and sports officials in the country believed he was cheated of the gold medal in losing a controversial 19-6 decision.
Due to his frustration over the politicians’ empty promises, Velasco rejected an offer to turn professional and became a TV sitcom comedian.
His Olympic batch-mate, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. of the United States also lost a controversial decision in the featherweight finals to another Bulgarian Serafim Teodorov. Mayweather turned professional and became a world welter-weight champion.
Hatton’s KO Loss Seals
De La Hoya’s Humiliation
Unknown to most boxing fans, Oscar De La Hoya, more than anybody else, shared the humiliation of British fans who mourned the brutal fall of Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton in the “The Battle of East and West” 12-round duel for International Boxing Organization (IBO) light welterweight crown at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 2.
The 1992 Barcelona Olympics gold medalist, who now manages the Golden Boy Promotions in fact did not show up during the post fight media conference as he “accompanied” Hatton (45-2, 32 KO’s) in the hospital where he was rushed after having been brutalized by Manny Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KO’s) in two rounds.
De La Hoya, who was himself waylaid by Pacquiao on December 5 last year in the same arena “lost his face” after he didn’t give the 30-year-old Filipino southpaw a ghost of a chance to beat Hatton despite the Filipino ring warrior’s reputation as “giant killer”.
Even after Hatton was given a clean bill of health by doctors in the hospital, De La Hoya did not anymore speak to the media for his much-awaited post mortem message.
He was reportedly shocked, humiliated, and stayed at Hatton’s side for few minutes in the Las Vegas hospital.
It was his chief executive officer Richard Schaeffer who did the talking to media and who justified his sudden disappearance.
In the final press conference before the rumble, De La Hoya valiantly told pundits, “If I fought Ricky Hatton last December 5, he would have knocked me out”. He wanted to tell fight fans Pacquiao’s 8th-round TKO win over him was fluke.
De La Hoya, whose left eye was nearly swollen shut, surrendered on his stoll at the start of 8th round and did not go down like Hatton who was bludgeoned by a single wicked left and fell like a deck of cards.
If it was Hatton who fought him that night, the flamboyant De La Hoya believed he would have been blown to bits by the slugger from Manchester.
After the quick stoppage of Hatton, Pacquiao, unmarked and unfazed, made the now retired De La Hoya eat his words the second time around.
De La Hoya ran out of alibi and many fight fans were convinced De La Hoya was really mauled black and blue by the smaller Pacquiao last December 5 no matter how his publicists offered excuses that the heavier De La Hoya could not meet the 147-lb weight limit in the card dubbed “Dream Match” the reason why Pacquiao had a field day peppering him with howitzers in the face.
Despite the embarrass-ment, De La Hoya agreed to ink another deal with Hatton in the future—this time as co-promoters.
Hatton announced he will shift career from prizefighter to boxing promoter like De La Hoya and hinted the possibility of taking in some world-ranked Filipino fighters in order to add luster to his future cards in the United Kingdom. /MP
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