THOUGH MANNY Pacquiao has publicly declared that his thoughts are with his countless Filipino fans when he climbs the ring, his other consciousness directs him to the other two important persons in his life – Emmanuel Jr. and Michael Stephen.
“Para naman sa kanila din ang aking ginagawa,” said Pacquiao yesterday shortly after he finally got reunited with his sons in General Santos City where a parade was held in his honor.
Boxes containing clothes, shoes, toys and other stuff for his two kids were brought over to General Santos City from Los Angeles where Pacquiao put on a big show that led to a sixth-round knockout victory over Hector Velazquez of Mexico nearly two weeks ago.
Pacquiao last saw his sons in the first week of August and he never even had the opportunity to spend quality time with them since he was busy finishing his movie “Lisensya-dong Kamao,” training at the gym and preparing his departure for the US.
“Na-miss ko na rin silang dalawa. Parang naiintindihan na nga nila ang aking trabaho dahil noong isang beses bago ako umalis ay tinanong ako kung si (Erik) Morales na daw ang lalabanan ko.”
Emmanuel Jr. is four years, while Michael Stephen is three years old.
But Pacquiao’s reunion with his kids won’t last long since he is scheduled to fly to Japan on Friday morning to provide morale boost to Eriberto Gejon, who fights for the World Boxing Association (WBA) minimum weight crown on Sunday night.
Gejon is a prot?g? of his friend, Cebu promoter-manager Rex “Wakee” Salud.
Then, in the first week of October, Pacquiao departs for Las Vegas to be with his brother Bobby, who squares off with Carlos “Famoso” Hernandez of El Salvador underneath the highly-anticipated world lightweight title rematch between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo at the Thomas and Mack Center.
Meanwhile, bootleg copies of Pacquiao’s recent win at the Staples Center, remain a hot commodity in the Muslim Center in Quiapo at R30 each.
The two-CD pirated copy also features the fights of Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista, Brian Viloria and Erik Morales.
Other items on sale include Pacquiao’s win over Marco Antonio Barrera and the first fight with Morales as well as a compilation of some of Mike Tyson’s best fights.
