MANNY Pacquiao yesterday threw hefty counterpunches ahead of his showdown with Erik Morales to deny charges that he’s turning his back on his countrymen.
“I am very proud to be a Filipino and I will forever be a Filipino,” Pacquiao told California-based Filipino sportswriter Winchell Campos in reaction to reports from a sports columnist-broadcaster in Manila that he will soon become a US citizen effectively leaving behind millions of Filipinos who are proud of him.
Pacquiao also called for a stop to what he called wild and speculative news “so he can concentrate on his monumental showdown with Morales.”
Campos reported that Pacquiao was disheartened to hear news coming from “uninformed and ambitious sportswriters from his native Philippines.”
Pacquiao singled out Ronnie Nathanielsz, who writes a sports column for the Manila Standard, “for fabricating horrible tales and putting words into the mouths of people he has not even talked to.”
Pacquiao swore he has been working himself silly to bring honor to his country.
“Ginagawa ko ang lahat para makapagbigay ng karangalan para sa Pilipinas. Kaya ako nandito sa Amerika ay para makapag-training ng mabuti pero iyon pang mga nasa malayo ang gumugulo ng ensayo ko,” said Pacquiao.
Nathanielsz’s article
He was reacting to Nathanielsz’s article which came out yesterday.
Contrary to fears being spawned by Nathanielsz, Campos said Pacquiao has vowed to do everything for his country.
“Nagsisikap ako para sa kapakanan ng bayan. Sa puso ko ako ay Pilipino, at kahit anong paraan, gagawin ko ang lahat para maiangat ang sambayanang Pilipino,” said Pacquiao.
In his article, Nathanielsz quoted Team Pacquiao member Roberto “Boying” Nazario (when informed about a green card for Pacquiao and US citizenship reportedly promised by his new manager, Shelly Finkel) as saying: “You want to turn your back on the Philippines?”
It was allegedly the same question posed by Murad Muhammad, who said 80 million Filipinos have supported Pacquiao all the way and now he (Pacquiao) is thinking of being an American.
The San Francisco-based Nazario, son of Pacquiao’s business manager Rodolfo, however, stated that he has not talked to Nathanielsz when Pacquiao tried to reach him by phone for comment.
Nathanielsz, in an interview with Inquirer, yesterday claimed he has no intention of trying to distract Pacquiao’s concentration going into the biggest fight of his life, and that he has even sacrificed a lot of his energy in helping Pacquiao’s career.
Nathanielsz also indicated that all his conversations with Boying Nazario had indeed happened. He said he was willing to show his PLDT bills just to prove he was not putting words into people’s mouth.
Campos, in his report from Los Angeles, California, also stated that Pacquiao’s wife Jinkee belied Nathanielsz’s claim that he had talked to her.
I never talked to him,” said Jinkee, who is enjoying staying in Los Angeles along with son Emmanuel Jr. after her husband transferred to a cosmopolitan two-bedroom apartment not too far from the Wild Card gym of Freddie Roach.
Nathanielsz yesterday explained he never claimed having talked to Jinkee.
“It was Boying Nazario who talked to her,” Nathanielsz said.
The Filipino sports hero has admitted that he is set to apply for a green card because of his extraordinary talent, which is not supposed to be mistaken as a bid to get US citizenship.
Free help
According to Campos, immigration lawyer Richard Wilner has offered his services for free and his help should not be misinterpreted a come-on by Finkel to lure Pacquiao to sign with him.
“Please stop crab mentality. If we are to move on as a nation, we have to help one another and not destroy with rumors,” said Pacquiao, who had a hearty laugh when he saw the reports of Nathanielsz on the Internet.
Nathanielsz, in the same article, wrote that Pacquiao received $300,000 in signing bonuses plus the promise of citizenship, citing “sources.”
Nathanielsz, as reported by Campos, also stated that Roach’s assistant, Justin Fortune, was tasked by Finkel and Roach to keep an eye on Pacquiao while his long time trainer Buboy Fernandez’s role was reduced to a mere “helper,” according to Boying Nazario.
Nazario also denied having said that.
Fernandez, the two-time Philippine Trainer of the Year, was mad and upset that he has been relegated to a mere “helper.” Fortune also laughed at the statement and joked, “Where is my percentage?”
In conclusion, Campos reported that HBO has acknowledged Pacquiao’s new management team and promised him that his March 19 fight with Morales will not be put in jeopardy because “he is one of the most exciting fighters in the world today.”
