It was around 4 p.m. on a rather lazy Sunday afternoon that we visited Manny Pacquiao and wife Jinky at the Josefa Apartments in Manila, not far from Roxas Boulevard which runs the length of Manila Bay, famous for its glorious sunset.
Pacquiao was dressed in a pair of shorts and a Tshirt, relaxing on the couch watching an old Filipino movie on television, starring two of the superstars of the 1980?s Vilma Santos who is now the Mayor of a progressive city in the province of Batangas and Nora Aunor.
Pacquiao occasionally switched channels to watch the races while a runner placed small wagers on the horses to which the champion took a fancy including those of his close friend Mikey Arroyo, the governor of the province of Pampanga and son of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who has always demonstrated her concern over his career and regularly welcomes him to the presidential place after a big fight.
The last time was when Pacquiao scored a smashing eleventh round TKO over the legendary Marco Antonio Barrera when the President awarded Pacquiao the ?Presidential Medal of Merit? after tens of thousands of adoring countrymen gave him a rousing reception and ticker tape parade as his motorcade crawled through city streets.
RONNIE: When did you really get into boxing?
PACQUIAO: I started as an amateur when I was eleven years old. I turned pro at sixteen. As an amateur I had a record of 64-4 and fought many tough opponents. My first two fights as a pro were staged in Mindoro Island. I won both fights before coming to Manila to fight on your TV show ?Blow by Blow.? (The TV show was staged by Pacquiao?s handler, business manager Rod Nazario, cornerman Lito Mondejar and Moy Lainez.)
RONNIE: Tell us a little about your family.
PACQUIAO: My mother says I was born in Bukidnon and moved to General Santos City when I was two years old. But my birth certificate states I was born in General Santos City so I follow that. GenSan is my hometown. I have two brothers, both younger than me and one sister. My younger brother Bobby is a fighter. He is the Philippine super featherweight champion. My other brother doesn?t want to be a fighter. Two fighters in the family is enough. Boxing is hard. (Pacquiao?s parents are separated. But he looks after both of them, having set up a small store for his mother and also helped his father whom he took to watch brother Bobby defend his title two weeks ago at Subic Bay. Bobby won by a sixth round KO against the top contender Renato Inal. His father watched the fights with no emotion on his face and hardly said a word.)
RONNIE: Did you enjoy your amateur career?
PACQUIAO: One thing I liked about fighting as an amateur was that its for fun. It gives you happiness because you just fight for a trophy. Every fight I felt the excitement especially when as a young kid you have so many people watching.
RONNIE: Your parents were poor.
PACQUIAO? Yes. I used to earn by selling bread. All kinds of bread and also ice cream. I quit school when I was 15.
RONNIE: What about your parents? Tell us a little more.
PACQUIAO: My mother didn?t want us to be boxers. My father Rosseleo was very quiet like my brother Bobby, but my mother talks a lot. I help my father and mother because no matter what they are my parents. They gave me life. Without them I won?t be here. I will have no money (lets out a hearty laugh.)
RONNIE: You spent a lot of money on your flaming red Ford Expedition.
PACQUIAO: P2.5 million (A little less than$50,000) But its not a gas guzzler like before. The new model is not so bad. Its cheaper on gas.
RONNIE : What about your wife Jinky? Where did you meet?
PACQUIAO: I met her in a department store in General Santos/ She was a beauty consultant for Ponds. It was about five years ago. I courted her for less than a month. She then lived in our home for more than a year before we got married. She?s nice. Takes care of me. (At this point Jinky brought him a glass of warm water with salt so Manny could gargle since he had almost lost his voice.)
I lost my voice singing so many songs at the party for boxers hosted by Mr. Nazario, Mondejar, Lainez and Gerry Garcia for all the boxers at the L & M Gym. (Pacquiao loves to play the guitar and sing. At the Vagabond Inn in LA where he stayed before the Barrera fight, Pacquiao used to serenade his wife who arrived a couple of days before November 15.)
I have two sons, Emmanuel Jr and Michael Stephen. They won?t be boxers. I want them to study.
RONNIE: Tell me about Buboy Fernandez who acts as trainer, valet and odd-job-man.
PACQUIAO: He is everything. Before, he didn?t know how to train. He was what they call a kanto boy. Just standing on the streetcorners, doing nothing. I brought him to Manila and taught him how to train, to use the mitts. He is very loyal.
RONNIE: Freddie Roach obviously likes you too and told me the other day his loyalty is to you.
PACQUIAO: Freddie likes me because of my good habits. He knows I am a good guy. I have discipline and I train very hard. Even on Sundays. Besides, I listen to what he says. He is like a father, a brother and a friend. He is good. I learned so much from him. We like each other and we are lucky for each other. I want Freddie to be my trainer and to stay with me until I retire. I plan to retire when I am 30. (That would be five years from now.)
RONNIE: Have you provided for the future?
PACQUIAO: I have a farm in my hometown. It?s four hectares. I keep buying the lands around it so it gets bigger and bigger. Right now I have 250 mango trees and will begin harvesting next year. I am also building some apartments for rent so we will have a steady monthly income after I retire to support my family and give my sons a good education.
RONNIE: Some people have suggested that you enter politics and said you?d be a sure winner.
PACQUIAO: I don?t like politics now. Its corrupt. That?s why our country is going down. Because of corrupt politicians. Its so sad.
RONNIE: What about the movies.
PACQUIAO: I will start shooting another movie for Viva Films when I return from New York later this month. Mikey Arroyo will once again star in the movie. He is a nice guy and President Arroyo has been good to me.
RONNIE: When are you leaving for New York?
PACQUIAO: Boss Rod (Nazario) and I plan to leave on January 15th and return on the 19th. We will meet with Murad Muhammad and the HBO people to discuss my next fight and the opponent.
RONNIE: Juan Manuel Marquez has said he wants to fight you in ay or June after his mandatory defense of his IBF featherweight title.
PACQUIAO: He is good but I can beat him. No problem. Right now I would like to rest because I trained long and hard for the last fight against Barrera. It was a hard fight. People don?t know that the training is harder than the fight itself. I am excited about my next fight especially against a good opponent. I will train hard and prepare well so I will maintain the reputation of Manny Pacquiao and our country.
(While we were talking the phone rang. A news crew from the country?s No. 2 TV network, GMA 7 was downstairs and wanted a brief interview. Manny asked me what I thought and I said fine, go ahead. During the interview they asked him about his purse in the Barrera fight which has been the subject of endless speculation amidst insinuations that Pacquiao was cheated. His answer follows.)
PACQUIAO: I know what the purse was. I accepted it. I have no problem with that. I am satisfied but I don?t wish to discuss numbers, please.
RONNIE: Your contracts with Murad, Nazario and your registered manager Marty Elorde end early in 2005. Have you thought about what you want to do?
PACQUIAO: What do you think I should do?
RONNIE: You must decide for yourself. Don?t listen to everybody who whispers into your ears. You are intelligent enough to make a decision by yourself.
PACQUIAO: Murad is the problem. Rod Nazario has been good to me. He has done a lot. I will just keep him as a business manager. That?s all. That way I can save some money. I?ll just tell him what I want. But I want to make sure that Freddie Roach will remain as my trainer. I want him to be given the ten percent he is asking. Even if my purse is $2 million I want him given $200,000 minus the taxes on the amount of course. I want Rod Nazario to make this clear to him.
(While we were talking Jinky woke up from her afternoon nap and came out . Meantime, the races were being run and the runner of Pacquiao was ecstatic as their winner-take-all wager was alive and Manny explained to his wife that if the last two horses won, the minimum they would clear was P50,000 which is just under a $1,000. Pacquiao. When he showed her the numbers where he had picked just one horse in the first two races and a combination in the rest, she said ?You are so confident you picked just one horse.? Then, pointing to the numbers she said ?this is Pacquiao. This is Pacquiao. Both sure winners. I don?t know about the rest.?) As the charming young wife nestled closer to her 25 year old husband it was clear she both loved him and admired him. Who wouldn?t. He?s more than a champion. He?s a national hero in the Philippines and a poor kid who made good. The kind you truly love.)
