When Manny Pacquiao fights, the whole nation of the Philippines and Filipinos all around the world stop to watch him fight. Last Saturday, when Pacquiao knocked out Ricky Hatton in round 2 of their mega-fight, the whole world stopped with them. With a resounding left cross heard from across the globe, the “Battle of East and West” was won by the little dynamo from Southeast Asia who has conquered more empires than any man since Genghis Khan. To say Manny Pacquiao has crossed over is an understatement. Manny Pacquiao has taken over!
With Floyd Mayweather Jr. announcing his return to the ring in an effort to steal some of the Pacman’s thunder the same day he fought, Pacquiao unleashed a sonic boom, announcing to anyone who had second thoughts that this is indeed the Manny Pacquiao era. Here are some quotes I gathered from around the internet by famous celebrities and sports figures regarding Manny Pacquiao’s performance last Saturday.
Steve Nash (Former 2-time NBA MVP): “Big love to all my Filipinos for the AMAZING PACMAN! Love how u support him. I wanna be an honorary Filipino! How do I earn my stripes?”
Andy Roddick (Tennis Superstar): “Pacquaio is nasty…. fun to watch”
Sean Combs (Music Mogul): “Now that’s a fuckin knockout!!!!! Damn!!!!”
Travis Barker (Former Blink 182 drummer): “PAC MAN IS PUNISHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! D A M N !!!!!”
Jason Richardson (NBA Star): “I’m going with the homie Pac.”
In an interview aired on GMA Philippines TV channel, actors such as Denzel Washington and Jeremy Piven were also quoted showing their love and support for the Pacman.
Jeremy Piven (Entourage Star): “He is just one of those warriors that comes around once in a lifetime and as a fighter, he just keeps getting stronger and stronger as the rounds go on and to me, he’s like my muse. If I’m feeling like I don’t have it, I think about Manny Pacquiao and I go and kill it.”
Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington, like other celebrities, went to Pacquiao’s locker room after the fight to personally congratulate him and was said to have been waiting for a while for his opportunity to finally meet the Pacman. He also said that he would love to visit the Philippines with the Filipino slugger.
On that same night, the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics had just concluded their exciting first round playoff series against the Chicago Bulls by winning game 7. The game ended just a few minutes before the Pacquiao-Hatton fight started. Last year’s NBA Finals MVP Paul Pierce was rushing through the post-game press conference because he said he wanted to catch Pacquiao’s fight. His teammates, like Eddie House and Tony Allen, who didn’t have as much media obligations as Pierce did, were way ahead of him, rushing out the door to catch the bout. Even TNT host and NBA legend Charles Barkley jokingly complained during their TNT post game show about how Pacquiao quickly disposed of Hatton and that he had nowhere else to go anymore that night.
Those are just some examples of how Pacquiao has conquered the hearts of not only boxing fans, but America and the world altogether. As Bob Arum put it himself, “not since Ali has there been a boxer with this kind of mass appeal and inspires this much devotion.” And the great thing about it is that Pacquiao did it the old school way. He really came from absolutely nothing and had to knock and practically beg for anybody to take him under their wing when he first came to America and aspired to fight in the “Promised land”. He took every challenge, worked his butt off and in video game fashion, kept getting better and better while training harder each time and disposing the best opposition that seemed to just get better. When there wasn’t anybody left in his division to challenge him, he moved up in weight to find more competition.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. may be a better “boxer” (in terms of craft) than Manny Pacquiao will ever be, but Manny Pacquiao is definitely the best fighter and the best pound-for-pound boxer of this era just because he never ducked anyone and provides excitement and action every single time he fights. His heart, will and explosiveness is almost superhuman. He has treated his fans with great fight after great fight and converted his haters and fans of his adversaries to admirers. He has definitely given boxing fans something to look forward to once again in the sport. The good think is he doesn’t even need you to thank or praise him. In Pacquiao’s own words, he “just wants to make everybody happy.”
Indeed we are Manny. Indeed we are.
