THE LATEST FROM MANNY'S MAKESHIFT MINISTRY
[PHOTO - Manny Pacquiao
Uses Bible to Rebuke Obama's support for Gay Marraige.]
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, MAY 24, 2012 (INQUIRER) By Percy D. Della -
Promoter Bob Arum bristled Tuesday when asked by reporters about Manny
Pacquiao's latest sermon from his makeshift ring ministry.
Crossing political swords with President Barrack Obama, who has endorsed gay
marriage, the now Bible-touting Pacquiao told the "National Conservative
Examiner" newspaper it was his "opinion that same-sex marriage is against the
law of God."
"Sometimes I get the impression that I'm promoting Rick Santorum, and not
Manny Pacquiao," said Arum hours after his fighter went on record and ripped
Obama for his pro gay marriage stance.
[PHOTO - Santorum has also stated that the
military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, which ended in 2011, should be
reinstated and has voiced his opposition of same-sex
parenting.]
Former US senator Santorum became the star of ultra-conservatives while
running in the Republican Party's presidential primaries. He was more than
willing to joust with anyone over homosexuality and contemporary culture.
"You have to understand, since the last fight last November, he (Pacquiao)
has become a totally different person," explained Arum. "He's super religious.
He does Bible study every night… But be that as it may, who knows what effect it
will have on his ring ability on June 9th?"
June 9 is when Pacquiao, boxing's pound-for-pound king, tangles with
a hungry Timothy Bradley for the WBO world welterweight title at the MGM Grand
Terrace in Las Vegas.
More than his ability to stay focused for his fight against Bradley, the
bigger question facing Pacquiao—and Arum—is how the boxer's provocative opinion
on gay marriage would affect traffic for the bout, both in gate receipts and
pay-per-view buys. As expected, the gay community and its liberal supporters
have blasted Pacquiao and his pronouncement.
* * *
It was the second time in a week that Pacquiao's recommitment to Christianity
has sparked a media frenzy.
[PHOTO - PACQUIAO SAID GOD TOLD IN HIS DREAM TO RETIRE FROM
BOXING]
Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's trainer told the "Los Angeles Times" five days ago
that his fighter has become drawn to the Bible after almost losing his fight in
November against Juan Manuel Marquez.
"All the distractions caught up with Manny in his last fight," Roach told the
Times. Freddie also disclosed a "pre-Marquez climate that included 'girls and
everything that goes with it,' late nights of gambling and excessive physical
wear playing too many games of basketball."
Roach said his fighter has undergone a period of adjustments and is back with
his wife Jinkee. The Times said that according to Roach, Jinkee served her
husband with divorce papers on the eve of the Marquez fight.
There is no divorce in the Philippines and how either party to a marriage can
file for divorce in America is beyond me, since that divorce, even if granted,
is not valid back home.
But Roach has since said he was misquoted on the divorce story, although he
said he knew it was not all sweetness and light between Manny and Jinkee before
the Marquez fight.
Loose lips sink ships, and so the saying goes. But in the case of Roach, his
disclosures about Pacquiao's indiscretions may have helped steady the Filipino
sports icon's boat leading to his bout with Bradley.
Credit also goes to Freddie for blowing the whistle that the boxer's coterie
of friends, advisers and hangers-on who cling to him like barnacles to a ship,
like gnats hovering nonstop around a carabao, would dare not touch.
Since they thrive on the champion's largess, members of the cabal are bound
by a code of silence not to talk about their main man's escapades.
Speak no evil, hear no evil.
The heck with you, Roach, whose language is as salty as a sailor's sometimes,
appears to be telling the boxer's coterie. Roach, incorrigible when it comes to
his prized pupil's well-being, manned up to tell it all.
Indeed, Roach's rat is out of its Hollywood hole.
It's Pacquiao vs Bradley, lest we forget By Sev
Sarmenta Philippine Daily Inquirer
ON JUNE 9, eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao will stake his WBO
welterweight crown against undefeated Timothy Bradley (28-0) at the MGM Grand in
Las Vegas.
Since we cannot have the Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight we want, we're
getting the next best thing Pacman's circle can come up with to appease our
Pacquiao appetite.
The Bradley duel also gives Pacquiao a fight to stay battle-ready. As he has
declared time and again, he'll fight anybody his promoter asks him to fight.
It's Pacquiao versus Bradley but we all seem to be looking beyond this match
and crave for that one fight we want to see. We're assuming Pacquiao will make
short work of Bradley and that the unbeaten American is not in the same class as
Mayweather or Pacquiao's other opponents like Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales,
Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Antonio Margarito or Miguel Cotto.
We're praying that this fight will be over soon and that Mayweather and
Pacquiao and all the other people involved will finally agree to make that fight
happen.
But let's all take it one step at a time, as Pacquiao is probably doing now
as he sweats it out in the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.
No matter how improbable, Bradley could be a dangerous opponent with a
surprise, just like when Pacquiao stunned Marco Antonio Barrera and the boxing
world in 2003.
Bradley has a wicked right hand and attacks like his sobriquet "Desert
Storm." He doesn't have much of a KO punch, though, and may not be able to hurt
Pacquiao.
There's also the wariness about Bradley's propensity for headbutting. Whether
it's intentional or not is hard to prove but it seems to be part of the risk
when you fight Bradley. He likes to stay inside his opponents and thus the
possibility of noggins clashing is there.
In his 2011 battle against erstwhile undefeated Devon Alexander, Bradley
accidentally headbutted his opponent at least six times. Alexander had a nasty
cut above his left eye. Bradley eked out a technical decision to remain
undefeated.
In November that same year, Bradley had a forgettable battle against a
listless and over-the-hill Joel Casamayor that was mercifully stopped in the
eighth round. A main supporting bout to the Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez third
battle at the MGM last year, the match did not bring out the best in Bradley and
did not immediately shove him into the radar for Pacquiao's next fight even if
he remained unbeaten.
But here we are, three weeks away from Bradley and Pacquiao climbing into the
MGM ring. At best, it will be an action-filled encounter since Bradley likes to
mix it up and Pacquiao is a willing dance partner.
For Bradley, this is what HBO boxing anchorman Jim Lampley calls a "signature
fight" that every fighter needs in his career.
He will go for the upset and the distinction of stopping Pacquiao's win
streak.
The crowd will get its thrills but will really look ahead to the possibility,
no matter how remote, of Pacquiao finally facing Mayweather. It's the fight that
every fan wants to see, where Filipinos want to see something happen.
It's seeing Pacquiao finally land one, two or even more punches to an
opponent who's been avoiding him because (as Michael Buffer says when he
introduces two undefeated fighters) he does not want the "O" in his fight record
to go.
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
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