Great fighter and all that. We listened to the fight on the radio driving to the airport last Sunday. In Tagalog. So we were not quite sure what was going on, but the driver helped us out. All over pretty quickly and the driver was pretty happy. Texting straight away. Then he called his mum, in English:
Pacquiao win! Second round! Knockout! … [pause for reply from mum] …. Love you too!
Was a lovely moment.
He’s pretty much a hero in the Philippines. Even Private Dancer Doris texted me to ask me for the result and she’s not into anything except phones, shoes and clothes!
Nice article here.
“He has taken on the ambitions and dreams of the Filipino people and when he’s in the ring he’s not just fighting for himself, but for the Filipino people and the country as a whole,” Gene Alcantara, a journalist, writer and representative of the Filipino community in London, told BBC Sport.
“They see in Manny something to aspire to, in terms of great riches, because they come from the same background. People put themselves into Manny’s shoes.”
When Pacquiao fights, the Philippine Army calls truces with both the communist New People’s Army and Muslim insurgents in the south, while crime almost ceases in the towns and cities.
“Whenever he’s got a championship fight, the whole of the Philippines grinds to a halt,” adds Alcantara. “Rebels put down their guns, everything stops in the towns and cities as people gather round TVs, radios and in movie houses.
“It’s the same in London: whenever there’s a Manny fight, Filipinos gather in the early evening and spend a sleepless night waiting for him to enter the ring. What Manny means to people is pride.”
Shame for Hatton, but great for Pacquiao and The Philippines. I love him too, not only can he fight; he can sing, tell jokes and play the piano. However, the main reason is this:
such is his affection for the Royal Family he named his daughter Queen Elizabeth.
Pacquiao even tried to get an audience with Her Majesty when he was in London to promote the light-welterweight showdown. He said: “The Queen is one of the most popular people in the Philippines.
“The people love the Queen, I love my daughter so…”
Apparently Queenie had quite a baptism.
So The Queen is popular in The Philippines. Prince Charles? Maybe not so much:
Sana manalo si Pacquiao!
Congratulations Manny Pacquaio sa iyong muling pagkakapanalo laban kay Cotto. Wala na talagang tatalo pa kay Pacquaio.. ~