WASHINGTON, D.C.: Hollywood superstar Jennifer Lopez and boxing great Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao literally hogged the Internet as they emerged as the top searches of Yahoo!, one of the world’s most popular search engines, on New Year’s Day. Only the sultry “J.Lo” was hotter than the Filipino icon as the two of them topped the first Top 10 Most Searched list released by Yahoo! for 2010.
The sultry American singer-actress attracted a lot of attention for her dazzling, figure-hugging cat suit as she performed a song and dance number in New York City’s famous Times Square as part of a television special to ring in the New Year.
Pacquiao, of course, was very much in the news after his super fight with unbeaten American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., which many had thought was already sewed up for March 13. But the megafight was practically knocked out by their high-profile dispute over drug testing.
The fight is not yet completely out, but is, at best, perilously on the ropes—and on verge of being counting out.
Rumble in the courts Global interest on Pacquiao, the consensus best boxer in the world pound-for-pound, apparently intensified after the Filipino icon filed defamation lawsuits against Mayweather and five others associated with the thrash-talking former pound-for-pound king.
Pacquiao is known by his legion of fans worldwide, topped such big names as Tiger Woods (No. 5), Lady Gaga (No. 6) and American actor Charlie Sheen (No. 8).
If the dictum that all news—whether positive or negative—is good publicity, then the attention being heaped on PacMan in such elite company as the Hispanic American pop idol J. Lo must be good for the Filipino boxer, especially in his quest for a congressional seat in his district in Sarangani province.
Pacquiao is reportedly expected to start training next week at Wild Card Gym in Hollywood in preparation for his next fight in March. If it’s not Mayweather, then it could most likely be World Boxing Association junior middleweight champion, who the Filipino promises to cut down to size for his eighth world title in as many weight divisions.
