DALLAS – Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao is their source of pride, and a beacon of hope, and that is precisely why Filipinos never tire of celebrating his triumph, even if it is becoming a pattern. Millions of Filipinos rejoiced yesterday after their boxing hero’s latest victory.
Pacquiao easily defeated Joshua Clottey by a unanimous 12-round decision to retain his World Boxing Organization welterweight title Saturday night (yesterday morning, Singapore time) at Cowboys Stadium here in Texas.
The 31-year-old, who was recently named Fighter of the Decade, brought his winning streak to 12 straight fights with a dominant performance in front of a crowd of 51,000.
Pacquiao’s punishing assault was reflected on all three judges scorecards as he won by scores of 120-108, 119-109 and 119-109. He threw 1,231 punches compared to just 398 for Clottey.
Now, he hopes to make the transition from boxer to politician when he begins campaigning next month for a congressional seat in the Philippine national election.
If elected on May 10, he would preside over a poverty-stricken province of Saranggani on the southern island of Mindanao. Pacquiao is considered the greatest pound-for-pound boxer in the world but he will have his work cut out for him in the political theatre. He ran for Congress in 2007 but failed to get elected.
“I am going to take a one week rest and go back to the Philippines and start campaigning for my political career,” Pacquiao said. “I want to help the people especially in my place.”
Ask when he would fight again, Pacquiao said, “I don’t know. I am going to decide that after the elections.” If talented Floyd Mayweather defeats Shane Mosley on May 1, it would set the stage for negotiations to resume for a Pacquiao-Mayweather mega bout.
It will be one of the most anticipated ever and could be the biggest payday in boxing history with conservative estimates of US$35 million ($49 million) for each fighter.
Pacquiao and Mayweather were expected to fight this weekend, but negotiations unravelled over the American’s demands for unprecedented pre-fight blood testing for performance-enhancing drugs.
“Drug testing is not for a fighter to use in negotiating,” Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum said. “We believe Mayweather raised that issue to duck fighting Manny Pacquiao and if we are wrong then let him sign a regular contract.”
The champion’s mother, Dionisia Pacquiao, says she would prefer her son retired from boxing. “I tell my son, ‘please stop. What happens if something goes wrong with your body?’,” she said told radio station DZBB.
She brushed aside talk about a big-money match with Mayweather, saying: “Why should we try to chase after the biggest prize? We have enough. God has given him enough blessings already.” Asked about his mother’s comments, Pacquiao said: “We will talk about that after I get home.” Agencies
