Manny Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach is worried the pound-for-pound king is so generous he’ll give all his earnings away.
The Pacman battles it out with Oscar De La Hoya on December 6 at the MGM Grand in a titanic clash which could make him as much as $20million.
His previous megafights with the likes of Marco Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Marquez have boosted his earning power to around $2million per fight while his various endorsements outside the ring have ensured he’s one of the wealthiest men in the Philippines.
As a national hero to 90million Filipinos, Pacquiao is also famous for his charitable work having set up a foundation which gives food, medical supplies, clothes and money to people in General Santos City.
And on the weekend before Thanksgiving, he even handed out 500 turkeys to his fans in Los Angeles.
Having fought his way out of poverty, Pacquiao has never lost touch with his roots and Roach believes that is why he’s such a huge star.
“Sometimes I’m worried that he’s too generous,” Roach told Investor’s Business Daily. “He has such a big heart and gives so much money, food and charity away that I’m afraid he’ll give it all away.
“He can’t walk down the streets in the Philippines without getting absolutely mobbed. But he takes it in his stride and never says no to an autograph.”
Pacquiao, however, isn’t looking for praise and said: “To me there is nothing more important than family and your country. I just want to help my people.”
Despite being so caring in his personal life, there’s no doubting his ferocity when boxing and many observers have put his glittering career, which has seen him win world crowns in four different weight divisions, down to a tireless work ethic in training.
While training in Hollywood for the De La Hoya bout, Pacquiao starts at 7am. with 1,000 sit-ups followed by a long run. There’s no let-up as he heads to the gum for three hours of non-stop gruelling workout sessions involving speed and strength drills
“Manny’s work rate is so high, he has a tendency to push too hard for too long,” strength coach Alex Ariza told IBD. “We have to tell him to stop or he’ll burn himself out.”
Throughout his professional career, Pacquiao has moved up from a 108-pound light flyweight to a 147-pound welterweight for the non-title showdown with De La Hoya and he insists any size difference against the ‘Golden Boy’ won’t be a disadvantage.
“Moving up in weight (class) is not a problem,” Pacquiao said. “I have always focused on my speed and movement to help me in the ring.”
