It’s Official: Darlene Custodio KO’s Manny Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao is still the nation’s beloved boxer, but he was no match for the political dominance of Darlene Atonino-Custodio. The first district in South Cotabato still belongs to the Antonino’s, and poor Manny will have to be stuck at making millions from his boxing career.
The Antoninos are a long standing political clan in the area, and their resources, contacts, coupled with Pacquiao fans who did not want Manny to run, probably all played a hand in Manny’s loss. Manny lost by around 40,000 votes which is a pretty wide margin.
WBC Announcement
Even the World Boxing Council gave Manny their deepest regret at hearing the news that Manny was not elected for Congress. In the same announcement WBC said,
With Manny Pacquiao’s political commitment over, the WBC orders starting today the free negotiation term with the WBC Champion of the World. Juan Manuel Marquez to set the mandatory fight between them in the Super featherweight
After the last time they met, in which Marquez made a comeback after getting knocked down three times in the first round and then went on to a draw, this next match should be really good.
This is why boxing has been fading as of the last decade because of all the politics that go on in boxing. This fight should have happened within a year of that draw, but it didn’t. Every boxer seems to be a champion of something — World featherweight champion, International bantamweight champion of the world, Universal heavyweight champion of International World, or some other title with the word champion in it.
Despite the lack of interest in boxing, The Philippines, because of Manny Pacquiao has remained a strong boxing nation.
Closing Thoughts
In the end, Manny is better off having lost the congressional race. He can now put even more focus on his next possible opponent, Juan Manuel Marquez, who is the reigning WBC champion of the world. Darlene Custodio also has a battle in her hands, she better produce results or Pacquiao may just run again.
This setback for Manny is probably a big disappointment for him, but I thank him for his good-natured way of accepting defeat. Politics may not be his game, but the boxing ring is where he truly belongs.
