CEBU, Philippines – Mexican ring legend Juan Manuel Marquez becomes the latest addition to the list of superstar athletes joining in the Manny Pacquiao saga.
Marquez said Pacquiao made a mistake for his anti-gay slur, but he strongly feels that the controversy stirred by his fiercest and bitterest rival when he was still an active boxer will not in any way affect his legacy of one of the most brilliant fighters the world has ever seen.
Pacquiao has sparked a firestorm of criticisms especially from the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community here and abroad when he compared same-sex relationships as to being ‘worse than animals”.
Aside from drawing flak, Pacquiao has also lost millions in sponsorship deals because of his derogatory remarks, with sportswear giant Nike dropping him as one of its celebrity endorsers.
In his standpoint, Marquez said Pacquiao has committed a ‘careless mistake’ and that he must face all the consequence of his actions.
But the four-division world champion said the issue is a completely different matter and will not have any bearing on Pacquiao’s status in the pantheon of all-time boxing greats. Freeman ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch:
“Pacquiao’s legacy will not stained by this, it’s something separate and he’s about to finish writing the final chapter. He made a mistake and he will pay. There is no doubt about his quality as a fighter, but there are times when the fish dies by its mouth. He lost his Nike sponsorship and the people behind him told him he was wrong,” said Marquez in a report by Miguel Rivera of boxingscene.com.
“And he is paying the consequences, and he must assume (the reaction to those statements). Sexual preferences are now open, a marriage of persons of the same sex is now open and he has to accept it,” added Marquez. “Pacquiao said he made a mistake and now he must accept the mistake and suffer the consequences. Pacquiao has to be responsible in his statements, in what he says or declares and he won’t have these problems.”
Despite the backlash he is getting though, the God-fearing Pacquiao has no intention of bowing to his critics. He stands firm on his opposition to same-sex marriage because it is against the teachings of his conservative Christian faith.
“What I am saying is right. I mean I am just stating the truth, what the Bible says,” said the 37-year-old Pacquiao, who has changed from his womanizing and gambling ways since his religious reawakening. (FREEMAN)
