When Manny Pacquiao emerged from backstage for Tuesday night's appearance on The Jimmy Kimmel Show, he was greeted by chants of "Manny, Manny," from what appeared to be a large contingent of his Filipino countrymen.
Near the end of the segment, Pacquiao, wearing a dark, button-down shirt and blue jeans, literally closed the show, singing along with the band as the members of the crowd, collectively, waved their arms.
Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 knockouts) hopes to score a similar knockout performance on Nov. 14, when he challenges WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs) at the MGM Grand at a catchweight of 145 pounds.
"I respect Miguel Cotto. I told him that he's a champion for this fight and I'm just a challenger," said Pacquiao, who is looking to become the first fighter to win a title in a seventh weight class.
"This is fight is very important to me," said Pacquiao. "It's going to be history in boxing."
Playing on Pacquiao's nickname, Kimmel asked the multi-belt champion if he knew what "Pac-Man" is, to which he answered, "My dog," adding, to the audience's delight, "I have a dog named Pac-Man."
At one point, Kimmel displayed a small poster of Pacquiao's soon-to-be-released movie, Wapak Man.
His powers "are a mix of Superman and Spider-Man," explained Pacquiao, who is depicted standing in front of three beautiful women in a full-bodied red suit with the hero's name spelled across his chest in yellow letters.
Pacquiao drew one of the many laughs on the night when he discussed his family, including his fourth child and youngest daughter, Queen Elizabeth, whom Kimmel referred to as "Queen Latifah."
Another subject was a unique training regimen used by Pacquiao to toughen up his arms and stomach, during which a member of his staff pounds those body parts with a cane-like stick.
Kimmel produced the stick, and pounded it on his desk.
"Yeah," said Pacquiao. "And it hurts."
Kimmel then had one of his assistants playfully feign the practice by lightly tapping it on Pacquiao's stomach.
"Now, how about you?" Pacquiao asked Kimmel, who allowed the fighter to do the same to him.
Paquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, said the technique has its roots in Thailand, where they "use it to deaden the pain so you can absorb a punch better."
"Manny's not getting whacked with it. It is just a small motion. We use it for sit-ups, but he is not getting whacked," said Roach.
"I don't know if I agree with it 100 percent, but Manny loves it. We've been doing it for five years now and it works for Manny," said Roach. "But if somebody is going to hit me with a stick, they better bring a big one."
Source: FanHouse.com
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