Pacquiao claimed that the doctors told him he is suffering from an inborn heart ailment and was even advised to call off the July 15 fight?
Four days after Manny Pacquiao blew through Lucas Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur, Pacquiao publicist Aquiles Zonio revealed to the world that the Flipino icon had risked his life to do so. According to a mega-maudlin press release, Zonio claimed that Pacquiao had been suffering heart issues and was advised not to go ahead with the Matthysse bout.
Here?s what Zonio wrote, complete with supposed direct quotes from Pacquiao, himself:
?Unknown to many, Pacquiao was rushed to Cardinal Santos Memorial Hospital in Manila around 3:00 p.m. on July 8 after he complained about difficulty in breathing several times during the duration of his preparation for the July 15 Matthysse fight.
Nobody knew about this?not even a single member of his training team or immediate members of his family.
He didn?t want any member of his family to worry, the reason why he kept it to himself?
Pacquiao together with about four or five members of his inner circle accompanied him to Cardinal Santos Memorial Hospital in Manila around 3:00 p.m. on July 8 to undergo an angiogram?
Pacquiao claimed that after the angiogram, the doctors told him he is suffering from an inborn hearth ailment and was even advised to call off the July 15 fight.
Pacquiao protested telling the attending doctors that the fight must go on no matter what happened. He was made to sign a waiver.
?I was required to run on a thread mill [sic] then an ECG [electrocardiogram] was conducted. The result was quite amazing. The result showed that my heart rate and rhythm improve as my physical activity increases,? Pacquiao bared.
?The entire medical procedure was finished around 3:00 a.m. on July and at around 7:00 a.m., we flew back to General Santos. Those who were with me were saddened and crying. But I told them, don?t worry, I?ll be okay and I?ll do everything to win the fight,? Pacquiao claimed?
?Buboy [Fernandez, head trainer and long-time friend] cried hard upon learning what happened. But I told him to stay strong and continue what he was doing. God will take care of the rest,? Pacquiao said.?
And, as Zonio continued, ?Pacquiao showed his toughness and selflessness? risking his life to fulfill his mission which is to unite and make his countrymen proud and happy even momentarily.?
Compelling stuff, right?
Except, apparently, it?s not true.
?My heart is okay. My heart is healthy. I feel stronger and younger than ever,? Pacquiao said over the weekend. He even joked that the only thing they?d find in his heart is the name of his wife Jinkee.
Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz chimed in to further muddy the water a couple of days after the Zonio report claimed the 8-division world titlist had been diagnosed with an ?inborn heart problem.?
?The doctor explained everything to me and it?s not a medical issue at this time,? Koncz told Philstar.com. ?Manny is okay.?
So, is Manny concealing a life-threatening heart ailment? Is a minor issue being blown up into a big, dramatic publicity stunt? Is it all just a bunch of BS?
Knowing Team Pacquiao?s long and storied history of ?confused? self-reporting, it could be any of those three options.
Whatever the case, the 39-year-old Pacquiao re-energized a stagnant career with his performance against Matthysse. Now, the question is whether we?ll see him in the ring with anyone not tailor-made to make him look like the ?Pacquiao of old.?
Jaded intuition leads one to believe that Team Pacquiao may be trying to rekindle the ?humble super hero? image that raged during the prime run of ?Pac-mania.? Hence, the ?risking his life to fulfill his mission? bluster from the initial Zonio press release and the subsequent, ?don?t worry about me, I?m fine? hero talk from Pacquiao.
Or, maybe, it?s just Team Pacquiao being Team Pacquiao, issuing conflicting press statements because nobody?s quite sure what all the players around Manny may be up to.
Fight fans, however, may prefer less hero talk and more hero behavior, in the form of Manny finally signing off on a bout with Terence Crawford.
