Remember This Story

It was, certainly, a head kick heard around the world.  Holly Holm knocked out erstwhile unbeaten Ronda Rousey to win the UFC World Women's Bantamweight Championship.  As referee Herb Dean stopped the fight, the world reacted with shock, disbelief, inspiration and "I told you so's," but here's the thing.

It's not a story of the perils of living a rockstar life.  Yes, Rousey had movie and commercial shoots, TV guestings and events, but she's always been a strong woman who could multi-task. there was never an occasion where she didn't train enough.  People love to bring out this story to any fighting champion with crossover personality, but there was never an occasion where she didn't train enough.  Rousey is a training junkie. She made weight and didn't look dehydrated.

It's not a story of hubris or good vs evil either.  Yes, Rousey had the scowl, the fighting words, the weigh in snafu and the refusal to touch gloves while Holm was gracious and mostly silent. But to infer that one protagonist is good while the other is bad makes no real observation other than the commenter is a casual fight fan.  Fights are fought outside the ring as much as in it and fighters build and cultivate the personas that help them win.  Holm projects the "I'm silent but I am a killer" vibe; Rousey projects the "I will get on you and destroy you" vibe.  Neither lady is as simple as just the persona they project.

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Fighting the Good Fight

     The only goal a good documentary should have is to shine the light of truth on an otherwise hidden or unknown subject.  Whether it's to expose a government's ineptness to handle a terrorist attack or the terrifying effects of eating fast food everyday, documentaries need to surprise and move people and their emotions with an unadulterated dose of the truth.  The problem that faced the directors, Oscar winner Leon Gast (When We Were Kings) and Filipino american Ryan Moore, was that their only subject, Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, is one of the world's most recognized faces.  Pacquiao's day to day routine and life story have been well documented, too well documented , in fact, that showing a new side, a new truth is a herculean task.

     Predictably, the documentary tracks Pacquiao's rags to riches story, from a small fishing village in General Santos to the small city in Saranggani and then later the streets of Malabon.  It also predictably tracks Pacquiao's amazing (and still ongoing) boxing career, from his early Philippine and Asian wins to his startling rise to greatness on the world stage.  But to say that the documentary is a predictable reel with the hopes of bolstering Pacquiao's future political career would be just too lazy.  The documentary provides a hidden, unexpected gem that only real silence will allow.

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