Sports Talk with MC

by MC

Another day in the boxing industry? Some may claim such. But in my view, this sort of fatal foolishness should stop-now.

A Filipino boxer by the name of Lito Sisnorio died Saturday after suffering massive head trauma at the hands of Thai fighter Chatchai Sasakul. Their recent match, which happened in Bangkok, involved, shockingly one gladiator going plunging into the seas of battle sans a valid boxing license.

This, as one might imagine, is a crushing blow to the reputation of Philippine Boxing, and yet another reality check directed towards those in authority in particular.

When will we exercise proper regulatory measures not only in terms of contact sports like boxing, but for all other aspects of our social existence in general? When will Filipinos in power begin to realize that their indecision, their lack of vision, could very well lead to the loss of human life?

Prevention, my friends, is a far better remedy than any emergency surgery performed to remove blot clots in one’s cranial region, can ever be.

According to reports, Sisnorio netted a pot of $600 USD for his efforts. That, to me, represents gossamer returns for getting your head bashed in.

As much as Sisnorio may have been snuck by agency detection, we have no alternative, in this case, but to say that the Philippines’ Games and Amusement Board (GAB), is partly to blame here. Fighters should be properly oriented both about their rights and about their responsibilities as athletes. The education should come not merely as a matter of protocol, but also as a matter of social obligation.

Moreover, athletes who choose to hang up their gloves should, and I mean, SHOULD, be provided with livelihood programs, and accorded proper retirement benefits, so as to ensure they are not only “applauded” for their efforts in the name of the country, but are also put in the fore as burning examples of how being a Filipino athlete can be a fulfilling undertaking when one looks at the bigger picture.

These, of course, represent a myriad of rhetoric, but trust me- a wellspring of rhetoric, on the whole, NEVER REALLY HURT ANYONE.

When Pinoys wake up tomorrow morning, we will still have:

1) One dead boxer (sadly…may he rest in peace)

2) One negligent government whose passe and intrinsically self-serving ideals trickle down nearly every aspect of Pinoy living

3) And an option to stay in bed, or actually get up and believe that sports management in this country still has something worthy of being called a future.

All is not lost with regards to making something out of the Philippines’ heavily tattered sporting persona. Not while idealists live and breathe, it isn’t.

Amidst all the big talk done in this entry comes the question then- what’s next?

That’s for us, walking forward in the name of justice/equity, to respond to- and fast.