Huge crowds cheered Filipino boxing star Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao as a convoy paraded him from Manila’s slums to the presidential palace in a government-declared national celebration yesterday for his latest win.
Pacquiao’s stunning second-round knockout that dethroned IBO light welterweight champion Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas on May 3 cemented his image as the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter and his massive popularity at home.
His victory set off celebrations across the Philippines, where the 30-year-old has created a fanatical following bridging the divide between rich and poor.
PHOTO: EPA
Shanty dwellers jostled along filthy sidewalks in Manila’s Tondo slum district to get a glimpse of Pacquiao, whose phenomenal rise from crushing poverty as a street vendor to world fame has become the subject of at least one film.
Pacquiao smiled and waved while children threw mock punches as his long motorcade passed by.
“He’s still my idol though I didn’t get a cent from his big win,” said garbage collector Renato Baldivia, 43, flashing a toothless smile.
The parade was abruptly cut short to allow Pacquiao to go to the Malacanang Palace, where Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, her Cabinet and members of Congress showered him with confetti. They enjoyed a sumptuous lunch in a banquet hall and then ate a cake emblazoned with the Philippine flag.
Three tenors serenaded Pacquiao with a rendition of his songs — one of his many side interests that includes acting.
Pacquiao presented his IBO light welterweight champion belt to Arroyo then gave her and her husband his team’s sports jackets.
Arroyo wore hers over her dress, grabbed a microphone and threw questions at him like a fan.
“Did Hatton hurt you?” Arroyo asked.
“Not so much,” Pacquiao replied. “On top of the ring, I thought he was bigger and stronger. But no, he could not take the punch of the Filipino nation.”
Arroyo presented him with an encased copy of a presidential proclamation, which called for a national celebration yesterday for Pacquiao. It described him as a “boxing legend” whose “life and victories inspire the Filipinos to have resiliency and dedication to triumph against all odds.”
“He used to sleep in cardboard boxes and wear hand-me-down shirts. Now he dons Armani suits as befits the world’s top ring gladiator,” wrote sports analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz in yesterday’s Manila Standard Today.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III urged Pacquiao last week to postpone his homecoming and observe a self-quarantine for five days because the swine flu virus has spread in Los Angeles, where Pacquiao stayed after the Hatton fight.
But Pacquiao defied the advice, saying he and his entourage did not have flu symptoms.
North Korea’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup-winning team on Saturday received a heroes’ welcome back in the capital, Pyongyang, with hundreds of people on the streets to celebrate their success. They had defeated Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the U17 World Cup final in the Dominican Republic on Nov. 3. It was the second global title in two months for secretive North Korea — largely closed off to the outside world; they also lifted the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in September. Officials and players’ families gathered at Pyongyang International Airport to wave flowers and North Korea flags as the
Taiwan’s top table tennis player Lin Yun-ju made his debut in the US professional table tennis scene by taking on a new role as a team’s co-owner. On Wednesday, Major League Table Tennis (MLTT), founded in September last year, announced on its official Web site that Lin had become part of the ownership group of the Princeton Revolution, one of the league’s eight teams. MLTT chief executive officer Flint Lane described Lin’s investment as “another great milestone for table tennis in America,” saying that the league’s “commitment to growth and innovation is drawing attention from the best in the sport, and we’re
Coco Gauff of the US on Friday defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to set up a showdown with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the final of the WTA Finals, while in the doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching was eliminated. Gauff generated six break points to Belarusian Sabalenka’s four and built on early momentum in the opening set’s tiebreak that she carried through to the second set. She is the youngest player at 20 to make the final at the WTA Finals since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Zheng earlier defeated Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 to book
For King Faisal, a 20-year-old winger from Ghana, the invitation to move to Brazil to play soccer “was a dream.” “I believed when I came here, it would help me change the life of my family and many other people,” he said in Sao Paulo. For the past year and a half, he has been playing on the under-20s squad for Sao Paulo FC, one of South America’s most prominent clubs. He and a small number of other Africans are tearing across pitches in a country known as the biggest producer and exporter of soccer stars in the world, from Pele to Neymar. For
RSS