Manny Pacquiao exclusive interview: why Ive changed my ways for fight with Brandon Rios Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao opens up on personal tragedy, winning £1.40 for his first ever fight, and why it is so important to give back to the people of the Philippines By James Goyder, in General Santos Sometimes, the numbers tell only half the story. Manny Pacquiao has won 54 fights, 38 by knockout, and worn eight different world title belts. He is the only boxer to grace the cover of Time Magazine this century and his next fight – against Brandon Rios in Macau on Nov 24 – in Macau will earn him £11.2million, underlining his status as the 14th biggest earner in sport. Yet to truly understand the power of Pacquiao, one must turn away from the balance sheets and that glittering CV and instead travel to General Santos, the sprawling, chaotic city in the southern Philippines where he first pulled on a pair of boxing gloves. This is where he now owns a gym and where, every afternoon, his adoring public will swarm, craning their necks for just the merest glimpse of their hero as he emerges from his bullet-proof black hummer. The atmosphere is exuberant, even euphoric, and this is just for a routine training session: for a fight, screenings can attract tens of thousands. Pacquiao has come a long way since the days when, as a child, he was forced to sell doughnuts to try and supplement his family’s meagre income. And yet for all the trappings of his rarefied status - the swarm of minders, helpers and assistants, the eye-watering sponsorship deals with Nike, Hewlett-Packard and many others, the front-page features in the Filipino gossip magazines – this is a man who has steadfastly refused to lose touch with his public, who adore him unreservedly. Pacquiao is all too aware of his status. On the day we meet, he is working out in a yellow T-Shirt emblazoned with the motif ‘The Champ Knows’ – a slogan which seems more suited to the political arena than the boxing ring. “I will tell you what it means – it means, I know the feeling,” he says, in a break during his sparring sessions. “I know what is in the heart of the people who need help, and I am happy serving people because I believe that when you have experienced being poor you cannot turn your back on people when people are needing your help. “I started boxing when I was 12 because my uncle taught me. There were boxing matches every Sunday in Gen San: if you won you got 100 pesos (around £1.40) and if you lost you got 50. I won and at the time, way back in 1992 or 93, it was big money for me. I gave it to my mother. “It was a difficult time. I stopped school when I was 14 because we did not have money to pay the school - we were a very poor family. I have three brothers and two sisters but my sisters married early so it was just me and Bobby and Ruel and my mum renting a small, one room place. We cooked where we slept, on the floor, and that’s where we ate also.” Perhaps it is no surprise that Pacquiao – whose position in his home country has long been elevated far above the common sportsman – now wants to extend his reach in politics. He has served as a congressman in the House of Representatives since 2010 – he was elected in his wife’s province of Sarangani - but his ambitions stretch far higher. Both his brothers aspire to eventually join him in the House of Representatives, while Manny himself appears almost certain to one day run for the presidency. Not everyone buys into the concept of Pacquiao the politician. In 2007, he had stood for election in General Santos and came a distant second with the eventual winner kindly suggesting that voters were concerned commitments as a congressman would adversely affect his boxing career. “Its not difficult for me, being a politician, being a congressman and being a boxer, its time management, I have time for boxing and I have time for being a public servant,” he said. Until fairly recently, to have suggested in downtown Gen San that Pacquiao was mortal in the boxing ring would have been akin to blasphemy. Now, however, even his fiercest acolytes would have to admit to their hero betraying signs of vulnerability. He has lost his last two bouts: the first, at the hands of Timothy Bradley in June 2012, was widely attributed to an appalling performance by the judges. It was far from a vintage performance but he still seemed to have done enough to get the nod on the scorecards and the shock when the split decision verdict went in favour of his opponent was palpable. There were widespread reports of crowds breaking down in tears when the result was announced to crowds watching on big screens in Manila and elsewhere. The second was much more emphatic, Pacquiao’s old adversary Juan Manuel Marquez knocking him out cold in the final second of the sixth round last December. Even long term trainer Freddie Roach has stated that a third consecutive loss for his protégée would be career ending. It all means that the fight with Rios has all the makings of a make-or-break moment. What is clear is that Pacquiao now has a greater perspective on life. People in General Santos tell me in hushed tones that during Pacquiao’s partying days ‘the drinks were always on Manny’ but in early 2012 he abruptly decided to abandon the drinking, gambling and womanising for which he was becoming notorious and instead dedicate himself to more peaceful pursuits such as studying the bible and spending time with his family. Pacquiao’s largesse is the stuff of legend and the hangers-on who had happily accompanied him to the casinos and nightclubs confidently predicted he would be back to his bad old ways before too long but he has stuck to his new lifestyle so resolutely that, whether reluctantly or not, the entire entourage has come to accept that the change is permanent. “What is in my mind right now is focus and to make sure I am in shape physically, mentally and spiritually. Thats my goal,” he says. “This time my preparation is more serious, more focused. My mind is like when I was 20 years old.” Pacquiao is accustomed to adversity. Having shrugged off the poverty of his childhood he has also been confronted with personal tragedy: a close friend from General Santos, Eugene Barutag, collapsed and died after an eight-round fight at a time when Pacquiao’s own career was still in its infancy. It was a desolate experience but, unlike many of his contemporaries, it never for a moment made him consider his future in the sport, even if it did make him alter his treatment of an opponent he was dominating in the ring. “When Eugene died some of my other friends quit boxing because they were scared but I didnt quit boxing because I wasn’t scared,” he said. “But it does affect you. Now, sometimes I take it easy when I am controlling the fight because boxing is not about you kill somebody, you dont need to kill somebody to win. In 2009, when I fought Miguel Cotto, he was badly hurt and I thought I had hurt him enough, so I eased off.” Again, it all comes back to that word perspective. For Pacquiao, life has never just been about his record in the ring. His trainers have regularly bemoaned his habit of risking injury in a game of basketball or riding his jet ski in the build-up to a big fight, and his political aspirations are probably a more pressing concern than adding another W to his fight record. Yet, at 34, there is a part of him that would love to deliver a trademark left hook to the sceptics who suspect his best days are behind him. To illustrate the point, Pacquiao tells a story from his youth. “I won’t forget my first professional fight because he (the opponent) was much bigger and older than me and I was underweight,” he says. “The minimum weight was 105 lbs but I was weighing 98lbs so there was a problem and I had to put weights in my pocket at the weigh ins. I won by decision.” It is a telling tale, one that underlines Pacquiao’s bravery, his ambition and his competitive streak. It will serve him well not only as he prepares for the biggest bout of his career later this month, but in all the battles that lie ahead
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 21:04:50 +0000
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