What goes around comes around.
In October WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, then just weeks away from a clash against Antonio Margarito, took time from his busy schedule to pay a visit to Las Vegas to make an appearance at a campaign rally for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Pacquiao’s actions helped secure Reid a victory over rival Republican Sharron Angle weeks after in a very close race.
Today Reid was able to reach out to Pacquiao and somewhat return the favor as he gave Pacquiao a tour of the U.S. Senate. Reid also opened up on how grateful he was to have Pacquiao in his corner in the political ring.
“I’m most gratified that’s he’s a friend of Nevada’s,” Reid said in a USA Today piece, further stating that Pacquiao was “an ambitious young man with a closet full of championship belts and the start of a promising political career already under his belt.”
Pacquiao of course is a congressman himself in the province of Sarangani in his native Philippines and has sworn to use his powers towards fighting poverty in his home province, which happens to be one of the poorest in the country.
I reached out to Top Rank photographer Chris Farina moments ago to ask if he had seen Pacquiao with Barack Obama but he denied as much, stating he was on his way back to Las Vegas to begin covering the festivities related to this weekend’s Fernando Montiel-Nonito Donaire bout. Pacquiao is expected to drop by the White House later on to pay the president a visit himself.
The 32-year old will defend his title against former three-division champion Shane Mosley on May 7th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
