Despite all the attacks on him by the Floyd Mayweather camp, Manny Pacquiao has remained remarkably calm, not wishing to retaliate. Manny Pacquiao AKA “Pacman” (52-3-1, 38 KO’s) has been in the public eye for a number of years and was named “Boxer of the Decade” for 2001-2010 by the WBC.
This to go along with all of the other accomplishments the “Pacman” has had in his pro career. His multiple championships and awards would make any competitor a tad bit envious, if not outright jealous. The Mayweather camp has repeatedly stooped to making outrageous statements about Manny Pacquiao. It is normal for fighters to trash talk each other when they are going to be participants in an upcoming fight. It is clear that Floyd Mayweather AKA “Money”, AKA “Prettyboy” (41-0, 25 KO’s) is a great fighter and will undoubtedly wind up in the Boxing Hall of Fame in the years after his retirement. That Floyd is a great fighter is not debatable.
What can be called into question, however is “Prettyboy’s” behavior and conduct outside of the ring. On September 3, 2010 Floyd went on a tirade about Manny Pacquiao that was quite troubling. It went far beyond the normal “trash talking” that we, as boxing fans have all come to expect as the norm. After all, “trash talking” sells tickets and makes everybody money. The great Muhammad Ali developed “trash talking” to an art form. The rant that Floyd went on in September 2010 however went far beyond “trash talk”. In “Money’s” wisdom he made a video of his vicious homophobic and racist rant, in which he uttered numerous racial slurs and obscenities against Pacquiao and his ethnicity. Any public official would have had to resign after making such comments.
Two days after making the video “Money” apologized about the comments he made in the video, saying he was just having a little fun.
It was too little and too late. Most of the people who watched and heard the video did not think it was funny. It was insulting to millions of people all over the globe.
More recently Floyd’s uncle Roger Mayweather went on another rant against Manny Pacquiao uttering the profanity and gutter language we have come to expect from the Mayweather camp. This too was caught on videotape. True, this time it was not Floyd Mayweather making the comments.
Through it all, Manny Pacquiao has maintained his composure, his dignity and his class.
When the tickets went on sale for Manny’s upcoming fight with Shane Mosley on May 7, 2011 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Promoter Bob Arum announced that they sold out in just three hours. Arum was astounded at how quickly the tickets had sold out and stated the he had never seen anything like it.
Apparently Manny Pacquiao has struck a chord in the boxing world, not just in his native Philippines, but all over the world, He is one of those rare individuals who transcend the sport of boxing. We have not seen that for a while. People who are not huge boxing fans are taking not of Manny Pacquiao, who is not only a great fighter, but a congressman in the Philippines and exudes charisma as exhibited on his appearances on the late night TV circuit.
Bob Arum, the gifted promoter that he is, recognizes the “Pacman’s” popularity. That is why Arum decided to leave HBO for his upcoming fight with Sugar “Shane” Mosley and go with Showtime. Arum wants to showcase Pacquiao on Showtime, which has a viewership of over 100 million as opposed to HBO’s 35 million. Shane Mosley will also be a good fit for that endeavor. It is to Manny Pacquiao’s credit that he has resisted the temptation to get down in the gutter with some of his detractors. It will be interesting to see the reaction of his detractors when they see the PPV numbers that Pacquiao – Mosley put up. Pacquiao has come a long way since he lived on the streets in the Phillipines. He has been a class act throughout his career and continues to be so.
source: boxingnews24.com
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