It's Manny Pacquiao's world, we just live in it: Nike line, global media tour -- Examiner

By Michael Marley, Examiner.com

Unless and until Floyd Mayweather Jr. clears his decks and states affirmatively “I want Manny Pacquiao next,” I guess we really can’t call he and the Pinoy Idol rivals.

Pacman will get busy with the third chapter of his rivalry against Juan Manuel Marquez on Nov. 12 while Mayweather ends a 16-month absence from his day job on Sept. 17 in a Las Vegas ring against tenacious southpaw Vicious Victor Ortiz.

In another sphere, it might be said that Pacquiao is starting to rival big sporting endorsers such as Michael Jordan and the now diminished Tiger Woods.

Can you say Air Pacquiao?

Pacman promoter Bob Arum revealed to me Tuesday night that the world’s top pound for pound fighter (again, unless and until Unbeaten “Money” proves otherwise) will come back to the United States for a family vacation six days hence.

According to Arum, wife Jinkee and their four children will have Manny’s full attention on the sojourn except for one huge commercial visit.

“Manny is going to Oregon, up to Nike headquarters to meet the big boss, Phil Knight, and all the other top people with the company. Nike is planning a huge Pacman product line along the lines of Air Jordan and all the things they did with and for Michael Jordan,” Arum said.

You might call it a vacation with a “Swoosh” pit stop.

After the weeklong stay in SoCal, Arum said, Pacquiao and family will return to the Philippines.

As far as the massive buildup for the third bout between Pacman and the slick Mexican counterpuncher, Arum said the media tour is going global.

“We will start at the end of August in the Phillipines,” the 79 year old promoter said. “We start in Manila and then we will be going over to Singapore, where they have huge interest in Manny.

“We’ll also go to the Middle East, to Abu Dhabi. Then we come back to America and we will finish the media tour up, appropriately enough, in Mexico City.”

Pacquiao is really starting to embellish the "world" part of world champion, is he not?

Thus proving, I guess, it is Pacquiao’s World…we just live in it.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

Source: examiner.com