PACQUIAO IN CAMBRIDGE: ROAD TO GREATNESS
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 09 Nov 2018
When Manny Pacquiao left Manila last week, he is an 11 fold boxing champion and in an unprecedented eight divisions at that.
He is scheduled to return home early evening today as an Ambassador of Goodwill after representing the sports of sweet science in a pair of speaking engagements at the Oxford University and Cambridge University.
The WBA welterweight champion and Sen. Manny Pacquiao was an invited speaker in the two prestigious learning institutions? debating societies before jampacked audiences in their respective campuses on Monday and Tuesday.
Pacquiao, a self-confessed elementary school graduate who did not even reach high school, was invited to join the ranks of several distinguished speakers in the past, including Sir Winston Churchill, Robert Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Mother Teresa, Benazir Bhutto, Albert Einstein and Margaret Thatcher.
Among the past sports personalities to have graced the two institutions? affairs were George Foreman, David Haye, Vitali Klitschko, Chris Eubank, Boris Becker, Diego Maradona and Roger Bannister.
Like his past and present peers, Pacquiao belongs to the underprivileged, but talented men of the world given the chance to win wealth, recognition and respect by way of the sport they loved most and he unabashedly admitted that fact before his awed audiences.
Boxing, for all its lies, is about the truth and that was what the Pacamn impacted to his listeners. He admitted being intimidated in following in the footsteps of previous Unions speakers, but he dared to stand before them ?armed with just the equivalent of a sixth form education, an undisguised respect for what your group and your university represent and a pretty fair left hook ? if this give-and-take were a tale of the tape, I would be a respectful underdog but be careful, I?m not that easy to floor.?
Pacquiao narrated how he came out of a life of poverty and crawled to become a world boxing champion (in flyweight, super-bantamweight, featherweight, super-featherweight, lightweight, junior-welterweight, welterweight and super-welterweight) then legislator.
?Miracles do happen. Dreams do come true. Being poor does not mean one must die poor. Hard work and persistence will set you free from the shackles of poverty. But it is faith that will take you to the very top,? he told students, members of debating societies, school officials and their guests at Oxford.
The stature of Pacquiao, the pugilist and lawmaker, is in no way diminished with this admission, how should it be. Those words should have been uttered years ago for the fans of boxing and ring heroes.
He ended his speech at Oxford with a challenge to the Union, saying, ?you, with your education, determination and faith, you can change the world.?
In Cambridge, the senator said: ?I have not experienced how it is to pursue a degree like a regular university student. My circumstances were very different from yours. But I did not allow these circumstances to limit me? I continue to learn from the University called life.?
He cited a Filipino metaphor that goes ?mas mahirap pa sa daga,? which translates to ?more destitute than a rat. ?From a very young age, I had to struggle daily to survive. I fought hard. I faltered. I failed. Many times. But I learned to rise again each time I fell. Each setback became a platform for a comeback,? he said.
?Each one of you in this room can change the world. Have faith, persevere. Find your passion and heed your calling. I urge you, as the Roman poet Horace did: Carpe Diem -- seize the day.?
?And above all, FIGHT!?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
OFFICIAL WEIGHTS AND QUOTES FROM TODAY’S OFFICIAL WEIGH-INS AND PRESS CONFERENCE FOR MANNY PACQUIAO PROMOTIONS’ HIGHLY ANTICIPATED U.S. DEBUT TOMORROW, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29
Sat, 29 Nov 2025Tagaytay Hosts 3rd Asian Chess Championship for Disabled 2025
By Marlon Bernardino, Sat, 29 Nov 2025WEIGHTS FROM PROBOXTV’S ‘THE CONTENDER SERIES’ AT SAVE MART CENTER IN FRESNO, SAT., NOVEMBER 29
Sat, 29 Nov 2025BIRMINGHAM WEIGH-IN RESULTS AND FIGHT NIGHT RUNNING ORDER CONFIRMED AS BEN WHITTAKER PREPARES FOR MATCHROOM DEBUT
Fri, 28 Nov 2025Coach Marvin Somodio: Full of Life and Punch at 42
By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT, Fri, 28 Nov 2025Boston Ends Detroit's Winning Streak at 12; Celtics Trip Pistons, 117-114 at the Garden
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, Fri, 28 Nov 20257-Eleven Run 2026 set on Jan. 31-Feb. 1
By Lito delos Reyes, Fri, 28 Nov 2025Carlos Cañizales Forced to Cancel Flight to Thailand for WBC World Title Defense
By Carlos Costa, Thu, 27 Nov 2025World Boxing Champions Promotions to Present Manny Pacquiao & Freddie Roach with Inaugural “Centurion Awards” During Manny Pacquiao Promotions Event on November 29
Thu, 27 Nov 2025Atif Oberlton Takes on Vaughn Alexander on Saturday, December 6th at The 2300 Arena in Philadelphia
Thu, 27 Nov 2025Iligan tops in PEKAF Mindanao qualifying tourney
By Lito delos Reyes, Thu, 27 Nov 2025INTERNATIONAL BOXING HALL OF FAME TO ANNOUNCE CLASS OF 2026 ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4th
Thu, 27 Nov 2025World Renowned Boxing Trainer Bob Santos Launches Private Boxing Camp in Las Vegas
Thu, 27 Nov 2025Eight Boxers Remain in WBC Grand Prix Finals On December 20
Wed, 26 Nov 2025WBA/WBO Cruiserweight Champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez Confirms World Title Fight with David Benavidez on Cinco de Mayo in Las Vegas
Wed, 26 Nov 2025