If Manny Pacquiao becomes any more popular, he won't be able to sneeze without an adoring fan offering to hold a handkerchief for him.
Bill Caplan, a longtime publicist who works for Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, was at Los Angeles International Airport two weeks ago when Pacquiao arrived from his native Philippines to continue training for next Saturday's welterweight title fight against Miguel Cotto at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Several hundred fans - mostly Filipinos - showed up to greet him.
But, Caplan said, "It was pandemonium like there were thousands, the way they rushed him. As soon as he appeared coming out of customs, they swarmed him. It was like the Beatles."
Caplan said Pacquiao escaped injury because airport security helped get him to a waiting car. It was so crazy, Caplan said, television reporters waiting to interview Pacquiao had to settle for his trainer, Freddie Roach.
"Even Mike Tyson didn't have the drawing power that Manny Pacquiao has right now," said Roach, who briefly trained Tyson. "Mike was always the biggest guy training and the attention was always there at the airports. But the way Manny Pacquiao arrived the other day, I never saw a crowd like that.
"People were swarming to try to get a touch or a look at Manny Pacquiao."
American talk shows have taken notice because Pacquiao this week was a guest on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." It seemed like every few seconds the personable Pacquiao wore an infectious grin.
"He brightens up a room," Roach said. "He's got class and a great smile. Manny Pacquiao is an endearing person and a great fighter."
Arum has promoted two other fighters who became ultra-popular, Muhammad Ali and Oscar De La Hoya. Pacquiao's acclaim is unsurpassed even by those two, Arum said.
"Ali was a proponent of a political position and also became a spokesman for the civil rights movement at the time when it was really emerging into everybody's vision," Arum said, "particularly his stance on the Vietnam War and when he came back to fight, people just idolized him.
"Manny Pacquiao does not have that major political statement because he is not controversial. But he is engaged in politics in the Philippines and everything that he does is very pro-humanity, so he is rather loved by people in the Philippines, the United States and all over the world."
Arum said even Ali didn't cause the type of frenzy Pacquiao does, and De La Hoya was behind both of them.
"As far as Oscar is concerned, Oscar was popular in the United States," Arum said. "He was good-looking, he was charismatic and he was a good fighter. Now, that made him a lot of money but around the world he didn't have the recognition of either Ali or Manny."
Pacquiao recently won the Gusi Peace Prize in the Philippines. It is the Asian version of the Nobel Peace Prize, and Pacquiao was the first athlete to receive it.
Pacquiao has been helping the people in his country for years. He continued that trend when he was training in Baguio City when the recent typhoons hit Manila and caused death and destruction.
Pacquiao made the two-hour drive from the mountains of Baguio City to assist in the recovery, even though Roach really did not want him to.
"When the typhoon hit Manila pretty hard, Manny went down there on a Sunday to help the people out and I asked him not to go because I thought it was dangerous," Roach said. "But it was his day off and he went to Manila and helped as much as he could.
"When the second typhoon hit, we kind of took charge a little bit and we went and spoke to the people and tried to put a smile on their faces and we gave them a message from Manny, of course. But I made Manny stay in the hotel so he was safe, so there were no problems because his fight was getting closer. He is so well-loved in his country and he wants to help the people and the people love him for that."
When Pacquiao was asked during a recent interview how the typhoons affected him, his sincerity was obvious.
"I felt so bad," he said. "I do have to focus on my training because I have to prepare. But I try to help the people in my country as much as I can."
Pacquiao is featured this week in a five-page story of Time magazine. The Asian edition has him on the cover.
"I absolutely had no idea that when I started my career in boxing, to provide a better life for myself and my family, that I would now be where I am today and on the cover of Time magazine," Pacquiao said. "A fighter's dream is to win a world title and gain financial stability.
"But what is happening to me now is the most humbling experience of my life."
And well-deserved.
"Manny Pacquiao is the most exciting fighter on Earth at this moment," said Howard Chua-Eoan, Time magazine director and co-author of the story. "But not just because of his skills in the ring. When he fights, he is carrying the hopes and dreams of an entire nation.
"He fights for his people. It is one of the most inspiring stories in sports today."
Feeling robbed, Johnson gets rematch with Dawson
It was April 2008, and Chad Dawson ventured into Tampa, Fla., and defended his light heavyweight championship with a unanimous decision over Glen Johnson. Johnson lives in Miami — about 275 miles to the southeast — so it was looked upon as somewhat of a hometown fight for Johnson, especially since Dawson is from New Haven, Conn.
Even though each judge had Dawson winning by four points, Johnson said he was robbed.
"I did the more convincing job to win the last fight," said Johnson, who tonight will get a rematch when he takes on Dawson in the main event at XL Center in Hartford, Conn. It will be televised on HBO. "Chad Dawson moves a lot and just tried to throw punches at my defense.
"He threw too many ineffective punches, and so based on that I believe I won the fight clearly. If the rules have changed, then someone needs to tell me so I know how to fight for the judges."
Johnson, a former world champion, is 49-12-2 with 33 knockouts.
It's not the first time he has said he was ripped off on a decision.
But Gary Shaw, Dawson's promoter, is sick of Johnson's bellyaching.
"I'm tired of hearing Glen talk about the judges and the wrongs in boxing," Shaw said. "Every article I read about Glen, he talks about the wrongs in boxing like he's the savior of boxing. Chad Dawson won the fight in front of the eyes of all the officials.
"And I want to remind everyone that the fight was in Florida and fought in front of the Florida Commission judges. The judges were not crooked. I've seen plenty of robberies and this was not one of them."
Dawson (28-0, 17 KOs) has yet to taste defeat, and is considered by many the top 175-pound fighter in the world as well as a borderline top 10 pound-for-pound fighter.
In Dawson's mind, there is no question as to whether he won the first time around against Johnson. He vows to do it again.
"I know I won the last fight," he said. "I'm done talking about the last fight. I'm just ready to go into this one and win this one more convincingly than the last one."
The main undercard fight will feature Alfredo Angulo (16-1, 13 KOs) of Coachella against Harry Joe Yorgey (22-0-1, 10 KOs) of Bridgeport, Pa. They will tangle for an interim junior middleweight title.
Source: dailynews.com
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