Born Again Christian Manny Pacquiao finished a Bible reading as dawn was breaking here in Sin City, 48 hours before the prize fighter earns a guaranteed $20 million purse for stepping into the MGM Grand Garden Arena boxing ring against rival Timothy Bradley.
In the Mojave Desert, and indeed, across the United States, the standing of the Congressman and boxer shows no signs of diminishing.
Redemption in the ring – he lost to Bradley, controversially, in their first meeting in 2012 – a new-found religious adherence and continuing political aspirations have meant that the ‘Pacmania’ bubble here shows no sign of abating in the world’s fight capital.
Pacquiao is on an extraordinary journey. But victory, or defeat, on Saturday night could have an effect on a fighter who insists it is “God’s will” that he fights.
The Bible session ended on a prayer, and then he was whisked away to his suite in the Mandalay Bay Casino Resort hotel to change guises as a workout loomed.
The juxtaposition of fame, huge wealth and humility, allied with the acceptance and delivery of pain have combined to create a unique figure in the small Filipino man with muscular calves, arms, neck and torso, who represents millions as ‘The People’s Champion’.
That title will arguably always mean more than the world titles across eight weight divisions. Belts are one thing. Offering hope to millions is another.
Hope. That alone has allowed Pacquiao to transcend a sport whose brutal simplicity tests it exponents to the core. In his homeland, or indeed in the United States, Pacquiao has become a modern embodiment of ‘The American Dream’.
Nonetheless, the pressure he lives under, the intense scrutiny, must create a strain on him. In the past, one avenue of escape involved a gambling addiction.
Some say his earnings, estimated at over $150 million, have been spent, used in political campaigning and good causes. There are other theories that he has huge tax debts, suggested by some sources to have been as high as $70 million at one point, but Top Rank Inc. officials told The Telegraph that they were “inaccurate”.
On Thursday, he had his walk through the Grand Garden Arena – huge, vacuous, empty of the 14,000 spectators who will throng to watch him at work, smiling like a child in wonder at the world.
Pacquiao’s state of mind is under constant discussion: “I don’t see him being overwhelmed with the religion or overwhelmed with the politics. He still is concerned about the politics and religion but it’s not all-consuming like it was for a period a year or so ago,” his promoter, Bob Arum, said.
“It’s still the same. In the Philipines, he’s still being idolised,” Roy Luarca, of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, told me.
A phalanx of Filipino scribes and cameras follow his every move. “Of course, there is a danger of it bursting. The country still grinds to a halt when he fights. That will not change. Not for this fight. Filipinos are still glued to it. They know that this is not a sporting event but a national event,” Nick Giongco of The Manila Bulletin said.
“There’s a small percentage that says he’s on the downslide. But generally Manny Pacquiao is still number one in the Philipines.”
So why has it never burst? “Because he’s so beloved, nobody wants it to burst. The demand outweighs the supply,” said Fred Sternburg, a publicist who has seen Pacquiao at every turn. “They want more and more of him. They don’t ever want him to go away. He’s so beloved, not just in the Philippines, in America he’s still considered the little guy who can overcome anything. He overcame so much – he really is the American Dream – Filipino style.”
There are not many sportsmen who are invited on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ alongside Bill Clinton. Pacquiao appeared on the popular US chat show in the last week – for the eighth time – alongside his political chum Clinton. Together, they have the relaxed ease which global ambassadors enjoy.
When Pacquiao was a 15 year-old, fighting at 105lbs for $2 a fight, no one could have envisaged his life story. ‘Manny – The Movie’, a documentary depicting his life made by Leon Gast, director of When We Were Kings, was released in his native country last month. It is set to make its mark in the US later this year.
“It is amazing,” said Sternburg. “They don’t want Floyd Mayweather [on Jimmy Kimmel Live]. Manny’s been on so many times because he’s so much fun. And he keeps things fresh because of his personality. He was actually asked to sing. They wanted him to be the musical guest as well as the regular guest. His quote to me was: ‘I love singing but singing doesn’t love me.’ So he doesn’t do it any more.”
In a sense America – especially America – loves a comeback story.
“Not that he was down that much, but there’s been this perception that he’s off the step, that he’s growing older,” said Sternburg.
Pacquiao, of course, has lost two of his last three fights.
“Bradley has been very effective putting that message out: that once you lose, you can never get it back again,” added Sternburg. “That’s inspired Manny in his training camp. That’s his motivation and he’s very excited about this fight. Hopefully he’s got the talent to carry this. We’ll see. But he’s going to give it his all.”
Arum, meanwhile, believes the Pacquiao bubble has not burst because the fighter and the man are one and the same, that there is transparency in his actions, and political ambitions.
“Manny’s a delightful guy who has a great fan base and people want to identify and be with him. So as long as he can fight, he will have his loyal fan base.”
In that sense, if he doesn’t deliver in this fight, could the bubble finally be burst open?
“I would think when it becomes obvious, as it does with every athlete, that he hasn’t the inability to fight any more on the highest level, then this part of the tale will come to an end.
“In other words, the saddest thing about athletes and sport is that it ends when they’re relatively young people. But that’s the natural progression.
“Yet there hasn’t been a sense that the mainstream in America is becoming tired of him. The American mainstream are Filipinos, Hispanics, Caucasians – he has enough of those people to really drive his engine.”
Thomas Hauser, who spent years detailing the life of another icon as the biographer of Muhammad Ali, and his life and times, believes two issues surround Pacquiao which will become clearer on Saturday night.
“The first is where Manny Pacquiao is now as a fighter,” Hauser said. “He had that incredible period where he fought Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto. He looked incredible. He was a wrecking machine. He glowed. There was an aura around him and that’s not there any more. It has dissipated over time. His last few fights he has not looked good. So the question is: ‘What does he have left physically and mentally?”
Then there’s Pacmania. “Yes, the other question is: Pacmania. People talk about having Pacquiao fatigue. I think even Manny has some Pacquiao fatigue. I get the sense that it is starting to become a burden on him.
“From what I can see he is a thoroughly decent person who wants to help not just his fellow Filipinos, but everyone. The constant never-ending demands have got to become very tiring after a while.
“And there’s also the underlying, very troubling question that financially Manny survives from fight to fight. He spends a lot on his political career, he’s very generous with his charities. There are a lot of people who are doing very well off him. I don’t know how good or honest his financial advisors are.
“[There may be] potential tax problems and for a while he had a gambling problem. I hope when it’s over he has more to show for it than the memories.”
As Pacquiao, the politician and the fighter, makes his lonely walk to the ring on Saturday night, millions of people will be hoping that his prayers are answered.
