A BROKEN RIB OR A BRAIN INJURY FOR MANNY PACQUIAO--IF HE GETS CARELESS

Anything can happen.

If Manny Pacquiao gets careless against Ricky Hatton, he could end up getting a broken rib or, worse, a brain injury.

That may be way too extreme, but then again who says boxing is a gentle sport?

Fine, Pacquiao (48 wins, 3 defeats, 36 knockouts, 2 draws) has a much superior skill set compared to Hatton (45 wins, 1 defeat, 32 knockouts) to score the decisive victory that most people (including myself) look forward to, but an upset isn't too remote to happen.

Unlike the ones that Pacquiao has fought in the recent years, Hatton is no faded fighter, is at the prime of his career, is as old (or young) as the Filipino boxing champ, and--as a swarming brawler--is probably more aggressive.

Hatton certainly doesn't belong to the class of warriors that Pacquiao has fought and defeated--Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Oscar De La Hoya--but he does belong to the type of boxers that the latter rarely fights in the ring: half-wrestler, dirty, relentless, granite-chinned, and has Neanderthal-like punch strength.

This could possibly be Pacquiao's hardest fight yet.

On the other hand, my countryman has almost everything that any opponent should worry about.

Stamina-wise, Pacquiao is both a machine and a fitness specimen: he can be relentless up to the final round without signs of fatigue. Hatton--despite his notorious love for beer, oily food, and late-night parties--seems to have no problem with stamina either, but that remains to be seen.

In terms of footwork, the current pound-for-pound king is the hands-down winner. In fact, Pacquiao's best defensive weapon is, in my opinion, his baffling lateral movement. Every time his opponent punches, he's no longer there. This makes parrying and blocking no longer necessary and a waste of movement. Most of his opponents--with the exception of Marquez--could hardly lock on him as target. Hatton is also fast, but--against Pacquiao--he will appear like on slow motion on the television screen, just like David Diaz did.

In the same manner, Pacquiao is a god in the hand speed department. He connects even before his opponents can blink. Hatton may have watched all Pacquiao's fight videos and would've probably said his opponent doesn't move that quick, but I wouldn't be surprised if he'll have a change of opinion once when he's already on the receiving end of the Filipino's furious flurries come fight night.

Okay, Hatton may be the stronger puncher, but Pacquiao is definitely no patsy in the punching power department either. The Filipino champ's knockout record is a testament to this, and Hatton only has just more than a month to find out that the Philippines produces not only the world's best nurses and caregivers but also "warrior-babysitters" like Pacquiao--who sends boxers to sleep.

However, Pacquiao should avoid getting tagged by one of Hatton's power punches as he might not survive a difficult round. If he wobbles from one of the Briton's monster hooks in the middle of a round, it could be the end of Pacquiao's reign and winning streak.

Pacquiao should also avoid Hatton's infamous body shots by not getting trapped on the ropes and/or by getting in and out very quickly before the British boxer could hug him like Hulk Hogan. He should also watch out for some of Hatton's sneaky elbows while in a clinch.

Pacquiao usually has problems against good counterpunchers; and while Hatton is no counterpuncher, he is still and can always be dangerous.

With the identically aggressive styles of these hard-punching fighters, I think that whoever gets cut first will lose the fight. If Pacquiao gets a nasty cut first, half of the battle is won for the hungrier Hatton, who will naturally capitalize on the situation by mercilessly pounding his bloodied opponent all the more.

The intensity that these two boxing superstars bring into the scheduled match makes this impending War of the Worlds or Battle of East and West a potential fight of the year. And let's just hope that nobody really gets a broken rib or a brain injury after all.

The outcome of this fight is and will be very difficult to predict, but--just for discussion's sake--who do you think will win, and why?

HIRE ME!

As a "second courser" nursing student, my remaining last four semesters in school will be very light and easy. Starting June this year, I will only have two subjects every semester.
 
I now want to work again (and earn) during my free time, which is and will be a lot.
 
But since I am now in Iloilo City, where it is relatively hard to find non-8-to-5 jobs, I thought I should post this self-serving ad here.
 
So, if you need--or know someone who needs--the following, please just refer to my CV below:

• An advocacy/communications plan consultant/manager;

• A project/business concept developer;

• An IEC/promotional materials concept developer/designer;

• An advertorial, position paper, and advocacy writer;

• A press release writer (both for print and broadcast);

• A speech writer;

• A cartoonist and/or a book illustrator (for textbooks, children's books, IEC materials, and the like);

• A company/organizational/school publications adviser/consultant (e.g., annual reports, newsletters, briefs for special projects/major programs, media kits, et cetera);

• A proofreader (for dissertations, theses, research papers, manuscripts, IEC materials, important presentations, and others);

• A block-time radio program host/anchor (in Iloilo City).

CJ Panila CV

I prefer more output-based, short-term engagements--for obvious reasons.

You can contact me on these numbers:

• +63946-871-2222 (Smart)

• +63906-871-2222 (Globe)

FEBRUARY IS PHILIPPINE LEPROSY AWARENESS MONTH

Yes, February is Leprosy Awareness Month in the Philippines.
 
A search on Google though would reveal that the Department of Health or its regional offices--except the one in Davao City--seem to have not made any effort to inform the public about it. (All the Department of Health has is an old article on its website that tells some facts about leprosy. This old article can be seen here.)

My classmates and I decided to feature leprosy in a short video documentary for our Microbiology and Parasitology (Biological Science 3) class. The video documentary is a major course requirement, whose original deadline was second week of March.

However, our professor--in anticipation of the "upheavals" in connection with the impending change of management in the University of Iloilo--gave us a new, much earlier deadline (12 February 2009), which fell on the same week of our midterm exams.

It drove us students nuts.

The change in deadline prevented us from bringing the original concept into reality. It already had a title--A Date With The Outcasts--where my groupmates and I would supposedly celebrate Valentine's Day as well as my 31st birthday with the leprosy patients of Western Visayas Sanitarium/Leprosarium in the town of Santa Barbara, Iloilo.

It would have been a selfless, less-than-usual celebration of Valentine's Day for all of us in the group because--instead of spending the day with our girlfriends, or boyfriends, or loved ones--we would have spent it with leprosy patients, many of whom are ostracized and neglected by their own families and relatives.

We had to think of something else. (My deepest apologies to Dr Annabelle P De Guzman, chief of Western Visayas Sanitarium/Leprosarium, who believed in our original concept and approved our project proposal.)

Below is our finished product, a 12-minute video documentary that attempts to address the common misconceptions especially among Filipinos about leprosy. It also shows the inspiring, successful recovery of leprosy patients--proving time and again that the disease is very much curable and that patients still have a chance to live a healthy, normal life.

The script was written for only three to four hours, while the entire video was edited for only two days. With such haste, we admittedly have overlooked some flaws (which you'll notice if you look and listen carefully). Despite this, the video documentary received a 98% rating. (Many thanks to Prof Rhoda Mae P Cerbo.)

Special thanks goes to Dr Alfredo G Salcedo Jr of Guimaras Provincial Hospital, for sharing his time and expertise as this documentary project's resource person on leprosy.

So, ladies and gentlemen, here's our 2009 Leprosy Awareness Month feature presentation, LeproStigma.

Enjoy.

 
ERRATA

At 02:33-02:34,
they keyword that appears should have been "mycobacteria," not "myobacteria."

At 05:29-05:31,
the voice-over should have said "and has often been thought," not "and has often thought."

At 08:02-08:09,
the year that appears in the subtitle should have been "1970," not "1978"--in accordance with what the subject actually said in the interview.