The Anthem Philatelist

Lawyer Jovi Garcia Neri holding an Elorde bread with an article in the Visayan dialect CEBU, Philippines — Cebuano lawyer Jovi Garcia Neri , who is also a dedicated sportsman, artist and writer , will be launching his “Just A Lawyer Drawing Sports Icons” book during the opening event of Tubô Cebu Art Fair on September 15, 2023 4:30pm at Ayala Center Cebu . The hardcover, large size coffee table book showcases the highly-acclaimed illustrations of Neri , totaling 36 sports icons - including nine Filipinos - featured in ready-to-frame, removable pages printed on specialty art paper designed to mimic the look and feel of the actual original art. Neri takes the reader along his own art journey told through drawings, sketches and doodles that span four decades. He provides commentary on each illustration, revealing his creative process and artistic evolution, and recounts his personal encounters and interactions with some of the global sports icons who have acknowledged his depictions of...

 Thank you Emmanuel B. Villaruel and the Freeman .  click  here to view online article  CEBU, Philippines — Good things come to those who wait. This proved true for Cebuano gastroenterologist Vicente “Inting” Avanzado, Jr., who had long been wanting to personally meet his boxing idol Manny Pacquiao. His first best chance came after Pacquiao’s brutal and bloody ring war against Puerto Rican great Antonio Margarito on November 14, 2000 before a delighted crowd of 41,734 at the sprawling Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, USA. Delivering a spectacular performance in a blockbuster showdown billed as “The Eighth Wonder of the World,” Pacquiao dominated the bigger but slower Margarito to win the WBC super welterweight championship via a lopsided unanimous decision over 12 grueling rounds. Pacquiao, then 30 years old and congressman of Sarangani Province, prevailed round after round, opening a cut on Margarito’s cheek, closing his right eye,...

Fernando Montiel was never a bum fighter. In his long and distinguished boxing career, he's never been knocked out. In his native Mexico, he is mentioned at the same breath as Marquez, Morales, Barrera and Chavez, having won three world titles in three different weight classes. His two loses were a split and a majority decision against formidable opponents. After Montiels 2nd round KO courtesy of Nonito's brain concussing left hook to the temple, several of "The Filipino Flash" doubters were silenced , this time turned believers. Some questioned that he shouldn't be in the Ring's pound for pound list (presently at number 5, Montiel is at number 7) because aside from Vic Darchinyan, whom he floored in the 5th round of their 2007 Bridgeport encounter, he never fought any other elite opponents. His recent knockout victory against the the Armenian Olympian Sodirenko was not enought to impress his critics. But this time around, they were awestruck with hi...

In Dallas , we stayed at the hotel where the PacMan was staying, the elegant Gaylord Texan at Grapevine, Texas . It is centrally located between downtown Dallas and Fort Worth and about 30 minutes from Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington , the venue of the the fight between multi-divisional champion, Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and the larger "Tijuana Tornado", Mexican Antonio Margarito . We arrived the day before the fight and our Sudanese cab driver, Jamal told us that a lot of Filipinos had been arriving at Dallas since 2 days ago. Several boxing personalities were spotted around Gaylord- these are some of them, starting with the non-boxers (writers, commentators, promoters, relatives, etc).    Wakee Salud . At first I thought he would be an intimidating and boisterous personality but I was gravely mistaken- he is a gentle giant. The long time Pacman friend and promoter is really a kindhearted person, always willing to share his thoughts about his ward's...

“He finds gaps,” said Emanuel Steward after Manny Pacquiao stopped Miguel Cotto in the twelfth round. Those three words mirror the words of a far older, far more legendary war tactician: Sun Tzu. “Strike at their gaps,” The Art of War asserted two thousand years ago, “attack when they are lax, don’t let the enemy figure out how to prepare.” The second knockdown of Cotto illustrated this theory. Cotto, a conventional boxer-puncher, was hit in the fourth round by an uppercut from the left side that went inside and underneath his guard. Pacquiao found a gap, capitalized on the momentary carelessness of an onrushing opponent, and spent the rest of the fight exploding every potential solution Cotto thought he had. “When you are going to attack nearby make it look as if you are going to go a long way,” Sun Tzu said, “when you are going to attack far away, make it look as if you are going just a short distance.” Pacquiao seems to be moving out when he’s coming in and coming in when he’s movin...

Whether he wins or lose in his next fight, Pacquiao has already established himself as one of the greatest boxers of all time. It is not the number or quality of the fighters he defeated that made him great but the way he demolished these fighters. Any memorabilia from this great warrior would surely become a cherished possession in the not so distant future. Our children would be very thankful on inheriting something from "The Man" from Gensan.    Thus, it was a pleasant surprise that Jinky, my pretty college history classmate and friend based in the United States who also had friends close to Manny, volunteered (thru Facebook) to have an Everlast glove autographed during Pacman's pre-Hatton fight propaganda in Las Vegas. Here in this picture, is Jinky with Freddie Roach signing the glove and with Manny in a group picture. Thanks Jinks, I will never forget to tell my grandchildren you were the one who had the gloved signed.   A win against Shane Mosley in his p...

This is my short response to Dennis Guillermo's article, Apples and Oranges: Comparing Pacquiao and Mayweather which appeared in Philboxing.com PACQUIAO convinced us that he is the P4P king- in the ring with his fists.  MAYWEATHER is convincing us that he is the P4P king- with his mouth. PACQUIAO is a doctor of Humanities (conferred) MAYWEATHER is a quack doctor- he loves ducking around. PACQUIAO may retire after fighting MAYWEATHER. MAYWEATHER unretired to fight PACQUIAO. PACQUIAO prays before he fights, MAYWEATHER prays for fights PACQUIAO fights men bigger than him (Hatton) MAYWEATHER fights men smaller than him (Marquez) PACQUIAO kneels to the Almighty before he fights. MAYWEATHER thinks he is the Almighty. PACQUIAO serves so others may live. MAYWEATHER lives so others may serve.

Brouhaha -"A confused disturbance far greater than its cause merits". The outburst of sentiments caused by balladeer, Martin Nievera's vocal rendition of the Philippine national anthem during the Pacquiao-Hatton boxing match in Las Vegas last May 3, 2009, is unnecessary. It stems from the National Historical Institute's (NHI) claim that the singer broke the law by altering the patriotic song's interpretation which should be based on Julian Felipe's original score. On a personal note, one should not be punished for singing the national anthem with pride and from the heart- which Mr. Nievera did. Unlike the visual arts, music is a dynamic art and subject to various interpretations depending on the emotion of its interpreter. I believe this law should be revised. To avoid this incident, the Pacman is volunteering to sing the National Anthem in the next fight. Julian Felipe was born in Cavite City, Cavite on July 28, 1861. A dedicated music teacher and composer,...