Underdog Boxing: Shane Mosley tweets in Filipino (well, sort of)

source: By CARLO L. PAMINTUAN

Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley have been cordial towards each other. The two haven’t said bad things about the other. Mosley promised to knock Pacquiao out but this can hardly be considered a diss in the sport of boxing. Pacquiao on the other hand said his usual stuff of “hoping for a good fight" and “we will give a great fight."

Now, Mosley has even tried to win over some fans from the Philippines as he recently tweeted in Filipino. Under the Twitter name @SugarShaneM, Mosley first tweeted “Hindi ko nais maliitin ng isang mandirigma Filipino ako igalang ang kanilang espiritu." Loosely translated, this means “I don’t belittle the Filipino warrior. I respect his spirit."

He also sent some love to all Filipinos when he tweeted “Pagpapadala ibig at paggalang sa mga tao ng mga Philippines (Sending love and respect to the people of the Philippines)."

He then followed it up with “I tumingin forward sa magandang malinis na laban (I’m looking forward to a good clean fight)."

Pacquiao on the other hand recently retired his @CongMP Twitter account and started using his Twitter-verified @MannyPacquiao username. Pacquiao has not replied to Mosley’s tweets. In fact his last tweet was to promote Fight Camp 360° which will be aired in the Philippines starting on April 17.

Twitter has presented a new way of reaching a broad audience and Mosley has been doing the most of it. Many people have dismissed Mosley as a sacrificial lamb for Pacquiao. Because of his recent struggles, boxing fans worldwide, even Filipinos, have branded him as an easy opponent for then Pacman.

But Mosley still tries hard to promote their fight. He has told everyone who were willing to listen that he is no pushover; that he poses a big threat to the dominance of Pacquiao. To those who don’t believe him, he uses charm and charisma.

By tweeting in Filipino, Mosley will make himself known, even endeared, to many Filipinos. We all know how happy we get as a people when foreigners try to speak our language and Mosley used it to his advantage.

If people decide not to watch the fight because they think Pacquiao will simply walk all over him, Mosley will make them watch because he made the people like him.

The syntax of Mosley’s tweets may have been skewed but the message was driven clearly. Mosley is a decent fellow. He respects Pacquiao and the Filipino people and he wants to receive the same respect.