Manny Pacquiao is eyeing his next big challenge, not Ricky Hatton or Floyd May weather Jr.?but earning a college diploma.
Pacquiao, who returned to the Philippines on Wednesday after defeating the so-called ?Golden Boy? Oscar de la Hoya on Sunday, said his boxing career would not last forever. The Filipino southpaw said education is what would sustain him after retirement from fighting.
?Gusto ko pa ring ipagpatuloy ang pag-aaral ko. Gusto ko matapos iyun. Iba naman ang boxing hindi pang-habangbuhay [I want to continue my schooling. I want that. Boxing is different, as that is not for life],? he said.
Pacquiao?s statement was apparently welcome news to Secretary Jesli Lapus of the Department of Education.
Lapus announced that Pacquiao would serve as the department?s champion and spokesman for its Alternative Learning System, a program designed to lure back to school some 12 million out-of-school children and adults nationwide.
In 2007, Pacquiao earned the Education department?s Accreditation and Equivalency for high-school dropouts. The boxer took the exam at the Ireneo Santiago National High School in General Santos City, his hometown.
Based on department records, he scored 82 percent in communication skills, 82 percent in English comprehension and 66 percent in Mathematics and science.
His overall ratings were 70 percent correct, a standard score of 95 percent and a percentile rank of 70 percent.
The equivalency qualified Pacquaio to apply for admission to a college or university, but apparently, he has not decided which one.
Pacquiao reportedly earned his biggest purse yet on Sunday?about $11 million?after putting away de la Hoya in an eighth-round technical knockout in Las Vegas, Nevada.
?PacMan? at Palace
Pacquiao was accorded a hero?s welcome in Malaca?ang also on Wednesday when he paid a courtesy call on President Gloria Arroyo.
The President presented him a carrot cake with white icing, decorated with a red boxing glove and a green boxing belt, with the letters ?World?s #1 Pound-for-Pound Fighter? on it and baked by Malaca?ang?s chefs. Pacquiao, for his part, presented the President with a replica of a boxing belt.
?You are an inspiration to the Filipino people,? the President told the boxer, nicknamed ?PacMan? for the way he gobbles up challengers.
President Arroyo and Pacquiao chatted for a while, recalling that victorious day when the so-called ?underdog? in the so-called ?Dream Match? prevailed over de la Hoya. He was favored to win over Pacquiao.
At Congress
Also on Wednesday, Pacquiao passed by the House of Representatives, where he was presented with a framed copy of House Resolution 268, which commends the boxer for his accomplishments. The measure was passed only earlier that day.
Congressmen appeared star-struck, as they suspended session and posed with the boxing icon.
Rep. Bernardo Pi?ol of North Cotabato, who was wearing a light-colored business suit and tie, asked Pacquiao to sign his jacket.
Rep. Victoria Reyes of Batangas also jostled for an autograph, as she asked the boxer to sign the sleeves of her light-brown shirt.
Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio of General Santos also got into the scene, greeting Pacquiao with a kiss on the cheeks and raising his hand in victory. The woman lawmaker was the one who defeated Pacquiao in the 2004 elections for the right to represent General Santos.
Pacquiao is reportedly eyeing another shot at politics in 2010, but this time for the seat of Rep. Mary Ann Susano in the second district of Quezon City. She is serving her third and last term and is planning to run for Quezon City mayor in the next elections.
Unlike Pi?ol and Reyes who merely offered Pacquaio the clothes they were wearing, Susano said she is offering the boxer a portion of her building in Novaliches so he can meet the residency requirement to run for congressman in her district.
Pacquiao is the first Asian to win major titles in four different weight divisions. These are the World Boxing Council (WBC) flyweight, International Boxing Federation (IBF) super bantamweight, WBC super featherweight and WBC lightweight world titles.
His coach, Freddie Roach, said the Filipino boxing hero would likely fight British fighter Hatton. But nothing definite has been set. — Francis Earl A. Cueto, Angelo S. Samonte And Sammy Martin
