MANILA, Philippines ? Manny Pacquiao received a word of encouragement from US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Thursday.
“Oh he’s fighting again? Oh well, I wish him well in his fight,” Clinton said in an exclusive interview with the ABS-CBN North America News Bureau.
Earlier this week, Pacquiao refused to be goaded by the media into choosing between Clinton and Donald Trump, although Pacquiao’s fight promoter, Bob Arum, has openly supported Clinton.
Meanwhile, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada paid tribute to Pacquiao for his contributions to his state’s economy ahead of the Filipino fighter’s title bout over the weekend.
“Nevada’s economy and culture is enriched by the invaluable contributions of the more than 100,000 Filipino Americans who call the state home,” Reid said in an exclusive interview with the ABS-CBN North America News Bureau.
“Pacquiao, in particular, has done tremendous work with the community and has been a true friend to Nevada.”
The US Senate Minority Leader added: “Saturday’s fight won’t just be a big night for boxing ? it will be a huge deal for Nevada. With Las Vegans and Mexican Americans Jessie Vargas and Jessie Magdaleno facing off against Filipino stars Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire, the greatness of Nevada’s diversity and our state’s vibrant cultural heritage will be on full display.”
Bob Bennett of the Nevada State Athletic Commission agreed.
“It’s phenomenal for the state, for the economy to have Manny come back in Las Vegas and (Nonito) Donaire,” Bennett said. “We always have great Filipino fighters here and they’re always welcome. This is almost like Manny’s second home for all his success.”
In the Philippines, the fight will be seen live, commercial-free and in high definition on November 6, 9 a.m. on SKY Sports Pay-Per-View.
In the Middle East, the fight will be shown on November 6 at 4 a.m. in KSA and 5 a.m. in Dubai, live (with replays) via TFC.tv. It is also available via OSN, ELife and Mozaic TV powered by Ooredoo.
In the US, it will be shown on November 5 live, distributed by Top Rank PPV.