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Philippines, 19 Apr 2024 |
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Pacmania, a global phenomenon By Joaquin Henson PhilBoxing.com Mon, 16 May 2011  LAS VEGAS ? Celebrity sisters Paris and Nicky Hilton joined a throng of admirers in celebrating WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao?s victory over Sugar Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena here Saturday night. The Hiltons are the latest showbiz converts to board the Pacman bandwagon whose manifest reads like a who?s who in Hollywood, listing Mark Wahlberg, Denzel Washington, Sylvester Stallone, Mickey Rourke and Stephen Baldwin. All over the world, Pacquiao has emerged as the symbol of Filipino excellence. Nike has signed him as a global icon alongside LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Tiger Woods. He?s the first Filipino honored with an 18-inch bronze gaming chip on the Las Vegas Walk of Fame, joining an elite circle of achievers from Wayne Newton to Liberace. Wherever Pacquiao goes, disciples follow like a Pied Piper leading his flock. It?s not just an entourage that tracks Pacquiao?s every step. It?s a mob. Pacquiao has lost his privacy. He?s now everyone?s property. The man who docked in Manila on a slow boat from General Santos City without a centavo in his pocket, to find fame and fortune in the ring in 1995, is now one of the world?s most influential figures. His charisma is overwhelming. No fighter in history has been elected to serve in government while still active in the sport. No fighter in history has ever won eight world titles in eight different weight divisions. No fighter in history has generated over a million US dollars pay-per-view buys at least once in the last three years. Pacquiao was named by ESPN as the biggest dollar earner in sports with baseball?s Alex Rodriguez last year, pulling in $32 million. Against Mosley, he was guaranteed a purse of $20 million. Depending on pay-per-view sales, Pacquiao could rake in as much as $5 million more. That?s not even counting what he bankrolls from commercial endorsements. Nike Philippines marketing services manager Tony Atayde, Jr. said there?s no holding back Pacmania. Someone said the Nike limited-edition shoes produced to landmark a Pacquiao fight often end up on e-bay, selling for four figures in US dollars and even for five if autographed. That?s because only a few are manufactured and easily become collectibles. So far, Nike has put out nine Pacquiao shoes ? all certified bestsellers. A few days before the Mosley fight, Niketown in Caesars Palace held a midnight sale of 120 pairs of the new Pacquiao Trainer 1.3 Max shoe. Fans waited in line for hours and when the doors finally opened, the shoes were wiped off the shelves in 30 minutes. Niketown wasn?t even supposed to open that week. The 30,000-square-foot store is still under renovation but because of Pacmania, 6,000 square feet of space was cleared for exclusive Pacquiao merchandise. ?What?s incredible is that for every 10 customers in the store, only two were Filipinos, meaning, Manny has really become a global icon,? said Atayde. The hottest T-shirt in town was what Pacquiao wore during the weigh-in on the eve of the bout. It was a yellow Nike shirt flown in from the company?s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, just a few hours before. The front of the shirt depicts two red boxing gloves with the thumbs joined together to form what looks like a heart. The MP logo in blue is at the top under a red quarter sun with three rays. The portrait is encased in a circle of words with rays steaming outwards and ?Pac-Man? inscribed in a banner under the gloves. The circle of words reads: ?Don?t tell your God you have a problem, tell your problem you have a great God.? The Nike swoosh is under the banner. The Hilton sisters cheered themselves hoarse during the Pacquiao-Mosley fight, which brought in a crowd of 16,412. When Pacquiao surfaced from the dressing room, his face was spotless. He looked fresh and wore a dark suit with a yellow tie and yellow hanky in his breast pocket. Pacquiao stepped up on the dais in the traditional post-fight press conference with wife Jinkee and the Hilton sisters also on stage. ?I thought it was an incredible fight,? said Paris, the Hilton heiress and TV reality show star. ?I?m a huge fan of Pacquiao. It?s an honor to be up here (on the stage).? In her Twitter, she called Pacquiao and Jinkee ?a sweet and down-to-earth couple.? Paris described Jinkee as gorgeous. ?So lovely spending time with Manny,? she said. ?Such a beautiful couple. Pacquiao rules! Can?t wait to visit them when I go to the Philippines.? Hilton plans to set up a business venture in the Philippines and hinted of investing in a beach club. As usual, a stream of visitors poured into Pacquiao?s 60th floor, two-bedroom suite at The Hotel of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino before and after the fight. The suite features a spacious dining room apart from a living room and a game room with a billiard table. It?s the room at the end of a long corridor. On the morning of the fight, Fr. Marlon Beof celebrated Mass with an attendance of over 500 at the South Pacific Event Center of Mandalay Bay. Fr. Beof, a Filipino based in Oxnard, California, blessed Pacquiao?s championship belts, robe, trunks, protective cup, and fighting shoes during the offertory. Those who came for the Mass included Gov. Chavit Singson, Solar chairman William Tieng and wife Aida, Solar president Wilson Tieng, Solar chief operating officer Peter Chanliong, RPN-9 chairman Tonypet Albano, bowling Hall of Famer Paeng Nepomuceno, Bacolod City Mayor Bing Leonardia, former Speaker Prospero Nograles, former Mayor Lito Atienza and wife Beng, Ali Atienza, Sec. Jesli Lapus, Gov. Abdullah Dimaporo, Rep. Sandy Ocampo, Philippine Olympic Committee chairman Monico Puentevella, Games and Amusements Board (GAB) chairman Monju Guanzon, GAB boxing chief Dr. Nasser Cruz, former GAB commissioner Angel Bautista, Rep. Robbie Puno and wife Chiqui with son Nico, Rep. Hermilando Mandanas, former Philippine Sports Commission chairman Philip Juico and son Joseph, Eddie and Annabelle Gutierrez, Dutch businessman Aernout Thiere, lawyer Romy Macalintal, former world champion Gerry Penalosa and wife Goody, Panamanian businessman Carlos Costa, promoter Johnny and Liza Elorde, Vicki Belo, Hayden Kho, Atom Henares and son Quark, actor Cesar Montano, veteran trainer Ben Delgado, Lito Mondejar, Frank Nazario, former world featherweight contender Orlando Villaflor, former PBA cagers Abet Guidaben, Romy de la Rosa, Peter Aguilar, Chris Jackson, Benjie Paras, Manny Victorino, Pongky Alolor and Django Rivera, Pacquiao?s brothers Bobby and Rogel and Team Pacquiao stalwarts Michael Koncz, Jeng Gacal, Eric Pineda, Jayke Joson, Joe Ramos, Edward Lura, Buboy Fernandez, Aplas Fernandez, Gerry Balagbagan, Jovy Halog, Nonoy Neri and Alex Oreto. Providing comic relief was Pacquiao impersonator Allan Rivera Manuel who works in the customer services department at the Houston airport. Manuel?s father is from Guimba, Nueva Ecija and his mother from Paete, Laguna. Manuel, 26, initially showed up looking like Pacquiao for the Antonio Margarito fight in Dallas last year. He flew into town wearing a moustache and beard like Pacquiao, drawing attention from curious fans. Launched in time for the fight were two versions of Pacquiao?s commemorative eight-world championship rings by Illinois jeweler Howard Kaplan. Both editions were on display at the Watch Boutique, a high-end store at the MGM Grand. The first version retails for $5,300 and is what Pacquiao himself wears, except when training or boxing, of course. The 14-karat white gold handcrafted ring has more than 1 1/ 2 ounces of white gold with over .80 carat of genuine white diamonds and three genuine yellow diamonds, which are bezel set. The second version sells for $900 and uses 85 percent silver, palladium and platinum containing more than 1 1/2 ounces of BPS metal. Kaplan, 62, customizes rings as his exclusive business and is considered the No. 1 championship ring-maker in sports and has produced rings to commemorate titles won by the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants. He also manufactured six personalized rings for Jordan to immortalize his six NBA titles and the Muhammad Ali ?Athlete of the Century? ring in 2000. Kaplan recently made 100 rings on a special order by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Pacquiao is a business partner in the ring venture. In the dressing room after Pacquiao?s masterful win over Mosley, a small crowd assembled to toast the champion. Pacquiao?s wife Jinkee, her mother Rosalina, twin sister Janet and sister Haydee all looked pretty as a picture. Freddie Roach was with his team ? best friend Billy Keane, book author Peter Owen Nelson and publicist Fred Sternburg. Conditioning coach Alex Ariza, writer Thomas Hauser and Buboy Fernandez were there, too. The Solar broadcast team of anchor Mico Halili, Juico and this writer did an interview after Pacquiao showered. So did ABS-CBN?s Dyan Castillejo. At about 2 a.m., Pacquiao began his customary post-fight concert before an adoring audience at Mandalay Bay. Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal said, ?Philippine flags waved, smartphone cameras flashed ? the welterweight champion of the world paced the stage with a microphone in his famous left hand, bending down to touch his admirers with his underappreciated, dangerous right.? Close to an hour later, Pacquiao took off his coat and sang Nothing?s Gonna Change My Love For You, dedicated to Jinkee.Who would?ve imagined that the night before, Pacquiao entered the ring to the music of Eye of the Tiger behind Survivor?s Jimi Jamison who sang the Rocky III anthem. Who would?ve imagined that the man singing on stage had, only a few hours ago, floored Mosley in the third round and made him look like a faded warrior frightened of suffering the same fate that befell Pacquiao?s previous victims Margarito, Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto? Indeed, there can only be one Manny Pacquiao, the fighting congressman from Sarangani and the world?s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Joaquin Henson.  |
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