PACQUIAO RECEIVES WARM WELCOME IN BRISBANE
By Eddie Alinea of Spin.ph
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 26 Apr 2017
It?s easy to see why boxing fans all over the world love Manny Pacquiao. This, his Australian hosts have started finding out.
A few hours after he landed In Brisbane Monday where he is scheduled to fight local boy Jeff Horn for his World Boxing Organization welterweight crown on July 2, the 38-year-old belt-owner showed why he?s the sport?s and the country?s true Ambassador of Goodwill.
?Ang init ng pagtanggap nila sa amin dito. Nakatataba ng puso,? Pacquiao exclaimed in an overseas telephone interview with this writer. ?Especially when they thanked me for giving Horn a chance to fight me.
?Alam mo, they made me understand, paulit-ulit na malaking utang na loob nila sa akin na lalaban ako dito sa Brisbane,? Pacquiao, who arrived in that Queensland city as head of a five-man delegation that includes, among others, his wide Jinkee, said.
?Isa na mang malaking karangalan para sa akin yun. I am really honored and privileged to be accorded such an honor,? the former two-time congressman and now senator, asserted, adding he learned about it through newspaper accounts as well as direct statements from fight organizers themselves.
The eight division champion was referring to statements from the people in the boxing industry in Australia that the bout, set at the 55,000-seat Suncorp Arena, is expected to reignite and reinvigorate Australian interest in boxing.
"It's been in the doldrums (boxing in Australia) for some time," Dean Lonergan from Duco Events said as quoted in media repors.
"I think you'll find this will be the biggest fight in Australian history and you'll see the underdog (Horn) come through, and there's nothing like Australians supporting their own guys when they're underdogs," Lonergan said.
Pacquiao will be in Brisbane until Wednesday when he and his challenger meet for the first time in a press conference to promote their title encounter. The press tour also travels to Sydney and Melbourne.
?Isa pang ikinatutuwa ko, para bang gusto nilang palabasin na nabigyan ko nang pagkakaon si Horn na maging kampeon din at sumikat na katulad ko. Kaya nga sabi ko, mag-train siyang mabuti pasa maging maganda ang laban namin,? he narrated.
?That actually, was what happened to me, di ba? Nang out of nowhere eh napili ako na lumaban kay (Lehlo) Ledwaba as a substitute for then the challenger. After that fight which I won by TKO, nagtuloy-tuloy na suwerte ko,? Pacquiao recalled.
?Ganyan talaga ang boxing o kahit anumang bagay sa buhay, kapag binigyan ka ng pagkakataon, samantalahin mo. May idadagdag lang akong baka di magustuhan ni Horn, wala sa plano kong magpatalo sa labang ito,? he said with a chuckle, ending the interview.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea of Spin.ph.
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