MANNY PACQUIAO will receive the coveted The Ring championship belt from the magazine?s editor in chief Nigel Collins next month in lavish ceremonies.
This was revealed by American Ted Lerner, who is The Ring?s correspondent in the Philippines.
“Everything?s all set except the date,” Lerner told The Bulletin. Lerner, who hails from Allentown, Pernsylvania, has been living in the Philippines for the last 10 years.
“Mr. Collins is coming over not only to award the belt to Pacquiao, but pay his respects to Pancho Villa, the tiny terror from Iloilo who is one of only two Filipinos enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York. The other is Gabriel “Flash” Elorde.
Villa?s tomb no longer receives regular visitors, and during the celebration of All Saints Day, only a wreath that came from the City of Manila adorned the place where the first Asian world boxing champion lies.
