American promoter Bob Arum expressed mixed emotions over Manny Pacquiao’s slow progress after Monday’s elections, which had the boxing superstar trailing incumbent Rep. Darlene Antonino Custodio in the ballot count.
Arum told Philboxing.com he is “very disappointed” with the partial and unofficial results in the Congressional race between Pacquiao and her charming opponent in the first district of Gen. Santos City in Mindanao.
But at the same time, Arum, who flew into town last week to give morale support to Pacquiao, is confident that the boxer’s recent fling with politics will only make him “wiser, more mature and a better fighter.”
Arum, a Harvard lawyer who joined the campaign trail of the Kennedy administration, said winning is not the only thing.
“Manny showed that he returns the love and affection and devotion of his people. He wasn’t going into politics for personal gain. He was trying to give back to his own people,” he told Michael Marley of boxingconfidential.com.
“This venture also put his name across the world, away from the sports pages, and that will not hurt his boxing marketability either. So I say bravo to Manny.
He fought a good, clean and hard race and if he lost, he lost. At the end of the day, he comes out a winner,” Arum said.
Arum said it would be such a pity if Pacquiao does lose, because it will close the doors on huge opportunities that would have been in store for the Filipino boxer, his constituents and the entire Philippines as well.
Arum said he had arranged a special meeting with Pacquiao and some members of the US House of Representatives on June 10 in Washington DC.
“This is the plan if he wins in the elections. And I think half the members of Congress wanted to be in that lunch. There will be some senators, too. They just feel that it’s one of a kind being a world-class boxer and a legislator,” Arum said.
“The effect would have been tremendous for the Philippines. With Pacquiao in Congress, a lot of focus would fall on the country. There’ll be so much opportunity for businesses like probably an ethanol plan for Gen. Santos City. Manny can be the honey to the bee,” Arum told Pinoy scribes last week.
Whatever happens in the coming days, Arum said Pacquiao will fight on Oct. 6 and will soon have to choose from among Joan Guzman, Edwin Valero, Marco Antonio Barrera or Humberto Soto as his next opponent.
Arum said Guzman, the WBO super-featherweight champion, looms as the top candidate, and the fight, if sealed, may be held either in Macau, Vancouver or the US.
Jose Sulaiman, the WBC president, said there would come a time for Pacquiao to be a “political champion.”
“God gave him this boxing ability that has made him a super hero and a multi-millionaire.
