PACQUIAO PRAYS FOR MAYWEATHER
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 28 Dec 2013
Fighters aren?t supposed to be like Manny Pacquiao. The Filipino boxing hero barely talks more than a whisper. He is more like a priest than a boxer, more altar boy than home boy. He sounds like a priest, always talking about the Holy Scripture.
Manny Pacquiao, in fact, doesn?t say bad words. He speaks softly and sees only the good things. Whoever utters a word against him, he answers with prayers.
When told of arch-critic Floyd Mayweather?s latest online dig, the world?s only eight-division champion and holder of four lineal titles merely giggled over the phone, saying: ?Again? Like before, I?ll just pray for him.?
?Alam mo, sa totoo lang, I think Floyd really loves me contrary to what many believe,? he blurted out in vernacular in a long distance telephone interview on Christmas Day from General Santos City. ?And he has reasons to like me. Kasi, like him, I also keep boxing alive at this present time di ba??
?Honestly, I would like to thank him for always remembering me. ?Haven?t you noticed, every time he talks, he talks about me. Isa lang ang ibig sabihin nyan, para sa kanya, hindi mabubuhay ang boksing gaya ng pagkabuhay nito ngayon, kung wala siya at wala ako,? the 35-year-old reasoned out. (That means only one thing, for him, boxing will not thrive the way it is now without him and me.)
?And, maybe, for him, life without me would be sadder than sad, as a line in one of our favorite songs connotes,? he told this writer. ?Para sa akin, okay lang for him to make fun of me. Hindi naman niya sinasabing masama akong tao. Na mamatay ako o magnanakaw.?
?People are telling me, marami daw nagagalit sa twitter sa mga pinagsasabi niya, he said. ?Well and good because that will make him realize na maraming magtatanggol sa akin sa mga sinasabi nya. That he has no monopoly in popularity among boxing fans, in particular, but sports fans, in general.?
?As I have been saying from the very first time that he poked fun on me, I?ll just pray for him. Pray that God spares him from any career-ending injury so he may continue practicing our profession,? the father of four to Sarangani Vice governor wife Jinkee, stressed.
?Floyd is pound-for-pound?s best in the world today and I acknowledge that, Whatever happens to him will make the entire sports world sad.
Kailangan siya ng boksing. ?Pacquiao said he doesn?t regret, too, Mayweather?s pronouncement of not wanting to fight him. ?I have also been long saying this, kung ayaw niyang lumaban sa akin, ganun din ako. Kilala na naman ako ng buong mundo na lumalaban kahit sinong iharap sa akin. I have never choose my opponent in my almost two-decade boxing career.?
The Fighter of the Decade said he?s already resigned that the fight everybody has been waiting won?t materialize. ?Actually, we don?t have to fight na. Pareho naman naming nabibigyan ng kaligayahan ang boxing fans. So let?s just leave it at that.?
?Basta ako, I will fight for as long as I can. That?s my job as a boxer. Kapag lumalaban ako napakaraming tao ang napaliligaya ko. At nakararamdam ako ng peace of mind kapag nakakapagpapasaya ako ng maraming tao.? he pointed out.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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