Obama to watch Pacquiao on pay-per-view -- Yahoo Eurosport

By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports

President Barack Obama told Manny Pacquiao during an Oval Office meeting on Tuesday that he plans to watch the Filipino congressman’s welterweight title fight against Shane Mosley on May 7 in Las Vegas on pay-per-view.

But, don’t expect any freebies for the chief White House resident. If the President follows through and orders the fight, he’ll have to reach into his pocket and pay the $54.95.

“He’s the President of the United States, but he’s also a citizen of this country and he’ll have to pay for the show,” Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told Yahoo! Sports afterward, tongue firmly planted (I think) in cheek. “When I do a pay-per-view show, there are no exceptions.”

Awareness of the bout increased exponentially Tuesday during the final leg of a cross-country media tour that ended in Washington, D.C. Pacquiao began the day by meeting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and touring the Senate floor.

But the big headline of the day was a traffic accident on his way to the White House. Pacquiao was crossing the street when passing cars slowed, inadvertently causing a multi-car pileup.

According to publicist Fred Sternburg, the traffic accident occurred as Pacquiao was standing at a light on 17th Street, waiting to cross the street to the White House. Traffic was moving slowly and many of the drivers recognized Pacquiao.

Sternburg said drivers began shouting, waving and snapping photos of Pacquiao. In the midst of it, the lead car stopped short and a chain-reaction accident occurred, with three trailing cars piling into each other. No one was hurt, but D.C. police were asking news photographers if any of them had the accident on film. Because they had their cameras on Pacquiao, none of them had a good angle of it.

By his estimation, Pacquiao told Yahoo! Sports that he and his wife, Jinkee, spent 10 minutes with President Obama in the Oval Office. They talked basketball and boxing, Pacquiao said.

“I invited him to my fight [at the MGM Grand], but he said he didn’t think he could make it,” Pacquiao said. “But he said he would definitely watch the pay-per-view.”

The Pacquiaos and Obama posed for pictures and even struck a boxing pose. Jinkee Pacquiao said she was very nervous and didn’t speak, but the boxer, widely regarded as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, chatted up the President.

“It was very impressive being in the Oval Office, and I was surprised by how tall [Obama] is,” said the 5-foot-6 boxer, estimating the President to be 6-foot-3.

Obama gave Pacquiao three shopping bags of gifts, including a watch with the presidential seal on it and bags of M&Ms.

Pacquiao began the day by meeting Reid in his office, along with Arum. Arum had Pacquiao campaign for Reid in the final week of Reid’s tough reelection battle in November with Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle. Pacquiao took a break from his training in Los Angeles for a fight with Antonio Margarito to fly to Las Vegas and appear at a rally with Reid.

Reid, who was an underdog in the polls, won a tight race.

On Tuesday, Reid welcomed Pacquiao to his office, gave him a tour of the Senate floor, then did a brief press conference at which the men gave each other a flag of their country.

“Everyone knows how much I admire people who get into the ring, whether it’s a boxing ring or the political ring,” said Reid, a former boxer and a one-time member of the Nevada Athletic Commission. “If that in fact is the case, that I do admire that, then I have great admiration for this man. He’s an eight-time world champion. Never in the history of boxing has that been done before.

“What has been so tremendous for the reign of this great champion has been that he has shown you can become a great athlete and still be a great person. He is really exemplary in that regard.”

Arum, who didn’t accompany Pacquiao to the White House, was bursting with pride and said the fact that two of the most powerful men in the world would take time from their schedules to meet with him shows the significance Pacquiao has gained. He said it was an emotional and very touching day.

“I am humbled to have been a part of it, and it was a spectacular day and a great tribute to Manny,” Arum said. “It was a wonderful experience and I’m proud I played a part in promoting Manny the way I have.”

Source: uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

Barack Obama Pulling for Manny Pacquiao Against Shane Mosley? -- FanHouse

By Lem Satterfield, FanHouse

Among the topics discussed by eight-division king Manny Pacquiao with President Barack Obama during their 20-minute White House meeting on Tuesday was basketball, politics and, of course, the fighter's May 7, Showtime-televised, WBO welterweight (147 pounds) championship defense against three-time, five-division titlist Shane Mosley, according to Pacquiao's adviser, Michael Koncz.

"I was very honored that the president took time away from his busy schedule," said the 32-year-old Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 knockouts), who will pursue his 14th straight victory and his ninth knockout during that run against the 39-year-old Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs) at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao's wife, Jinkee, also met Obama on Capitol Hill.

"Manny was very honored to meet the president and that he took that time away from what is obviously a busy schedule. They talked about basketball and about boxing, and Manny invited him to attend the fight and watch it live," said Koncz.

"But the president said that he can't watch the fight live," said Koncz. "Although he will certainly watch it on pay-per-view, and he said that he would be rooting for Manny and that he's going to cheer for Manny to win."

Pacquiao posed with Obama for several photos, including a boxing pose, in the Oval Office, pblicist Fred Sternberg told The Associated Press.

The President gave him three grocery bags full of light blue M&M's with the presidential seal, along with a watch adorned with the seal, and said he hopes to someday visit the Philippines, according to Sternberg.

Pacquiao also made an appearance on ESPN's "Pardon The Interruption" prior to coming to the White House.

"Obviously, the president is a very busy guy," said Sternberg. "So, for him to take time out of his schedule to meet with Manny was a great honor."

The stop in Washington, D.C., is the last of a four-day tour promoting Pacquiao-Mosley. The tour began on Thursday at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles with stops in Las Vegas and New York, respectively, on Saturday and Monday.

On Tuesday, Pacquiao was welcomed on the floor of the United States Senate as a guest of Nevada Senator Harry Reid, who facilitated the visit with Obama.

"I think that it is a great honor for anybody to meet with the president, particularly for a foreign athlete. That just shows how far Manny has come in terms of his worldwide popularity, and what a well-respected world figure Manny is," said Top Rank Promotions' CEO Bob Arum, who is handling Pacqauiao-Mosley.

"There was the meeting in Senator Reid's office, as well as the Q&A and Senator Reid and Manny had at the Capitol, and, now the meeting with Obama. That's just absolutely incredible," said Arum. "It's not just an honor for Manny, but it really elevates the sport of boxing."

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

Manny Pacquiao causes a stir during visit to Capitol Hill -- Washington Post

By Gene Wang, Washington Post

Nothing creates a stir on stodgy Capitol Hill quite like a celebrity appearance, and at the center of the commotion on Tuesday was boxer Manny Pacquiao, a world champion in eight divisions and among the most highly regarded fighters of all time.

Recently elected to congress in his native Philippines, Pacquiao turned his inaugural visit to the District into a two-fold venture. First, as a guest of Sen. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), he toured the Senate floor in the morning and later went to the White House for a private meeting with President Obama. Pacquiao had campaigned for Reid during the last round of elections, and the majority leader, himself a former boxer, went so far as to say that support pushed him to victory in a tight race.

But Pacquiao, 32, also used the short news conference to promote his bout against former WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley in Las Vegas on May 7. Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 knockouts) is a 7-1 favorite over Mosley, who at 39 is in the twilight of his career and has gone 0-1-1 in his past two fights. The loss was to Floyd Mayweather, whose legal troubles have further complicated a potential fight against Pacquiao that would be one of the richest and most anticipated in the sport's history.

"The only other fighter that was capable of this was [Muhammad] Ali," longtime promoter Bob Arum, whose stable of fighters as head of Top Rank Boxing includes Pacquiao, said of the excitement surrounding his high-profile client's visit to Capitol Hill. "I remember years ago bringing [Sugar Ray] Leonard and [Tommy] Hearns to the Capitol . . . but nothing like this, nothing like this. The fact that the senator would walk Manny on the floor of the Senate, that's a great, great honor."

Inside the ring, Pacquiao's most lofty acclaim would come by beating Mayweather, 33, in a dream matchup that has hit one snag after another after an initial agreement early last year. Among those was the refusal on the part of Pacquiao's camp to consent to Olympic-style drug testing, as Mayweather's camp was insisting. Now comes a series of domestic violence allegations facing Mayweather, who is charged with multiple felonies stemming from an altercation with ex-girlfriend Josie Harris.

Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs) has won nine world titles in five weight classes and also is considered among the greatest pound-for-pound fighters not only of his generation but in history. Pacquiao was in and out of Tuesday's news conference so quickly that he was able to escape questions about that possible fight, but he did address that topic on Thursday in Los Angeles, where he and Mosley appeared at the Beverly Hills Hotel for a promotional stop.

"For me, if the fight is to happen, it would be good for the fans," Pacquiao said. "It's what the fans want. For now though, I'm praying for [Mayweather] that it will be okay, you know, with his personal problems."

Pacquiao, meantime, is coming off a victory over Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tex. Pacquiao won the vacant WBC super welterweight belt by unanimous decision despite giving up 17 pounds to Margarito, who immediately after the fight was transported to a hospital. Doctors determined Margarito had fractured his orbital bone and required surgery.

The District was to be Pacquiao's final stop on a press junket that began in Los Angeles and included appearances in Las Vegas and New York, where he and Mosley addressed the media at Chelsea Pier on Monday afternoon. Pacquiao and his entourage then traveled by train to Union Station that night.

Source: washingtonpost.com

Mr. Pacquiao Goes to Washington -- FOX News

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Manny Pacquiao may not be a household name, but he's making big waves on Capitol Hill just by showing up. He's a fighter and a politician and has fans in high places. Our own Griff Jenkins caught up with the man many call a national hero.

GRIFF JENKINS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Even if you are not a boxing fan you probably heard of Muhammad Ali, right? You are about to meet a man some say is even greater than Ali. They call him the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. His name is Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, and he is from the toughest streets in the Philippines. He's a national hero there for winning 10 world titles in eight different weight classes, also he's an elected congressman back home.

So what is he doing in Washington? He came to meet with Capitol Hill leaders, as well as President Obama.

SEN. HARRY REID, D-NEV.: He's a fighter, the best pound-per-pound fighter on the planet today. He's a man who is so fun to watch.

JENKINS: Congressman, welcome to Washington.

MANNY PACQUIAO, BOXER: Thank you.

JENKINS: You have been called by Senator Reid the greatest fighter of all time. But you are in politics. Why did you get into politics?

PACQUIAO: I want to serve people.

JENKINS: What do you hope to achieve with public service to your family, friends and countrymen in the Philippines, what do you hope to accomplish with your service?

PACQUIAO: Before I have a dream to be a champion. Now in politics I have a dream to achieve to be champion also, being a public servant. I want to help people.

JENKINS: Your political party, the People's Champ Movement. You guys work on issues like poverty. What else is the movement about?

PACQUIAO: It is the people's movement combined with poor people, helping each other to grow.

JENKINS: How did you up -- when did you decide -- you clearly became a hero, a national hero winning many fights in the Philippines. One day you decided I want to be a politician as well. When did that happen?

PACQUIAO: When I started boxing, my dream also is not only for boxing, it is in my heart and mind, I want to help people, maybe at the right time.

JENKINS: You are going to meet with President Obama today. What do you want to say to him?

PACQUIAO: Well, I want to say thank you for giving us our inspiration.

JENKINS: You like the president?

PACQUIAO: Yes.

JENKINS: What do you like about the president?

PACQUIAO: He's my idol the way he talks to the people, the way he serves the people.

JENKINS: You hope to accomplish that perhaps in your political career?

PACQUIAO: Yes, I hope so.

JENKINS (STANDUP): How did his meeting with the president go? We caught up with Manny immediately after.

JENKINS: What did the president have to say to you?

PACQUIAO: He say good luck to my upcoming fight. I invited him to watch the fight. He said he's going to watch. He's going to watch on pay-per-view.

JENKINS: Did he have any advice for you politically?

PACQUIAO: No.

JENKINS: You are smiling. Maybe he had something to share that you won't tell us?

PACQUIAO: I'm happy because I meet the president.

JENKINS: What did you say to him?

PACQUIAO: Thank you. Say thank you. We both like boxing.

JENKINS: Did he encourage you perhaps to run for president in the Philippines some day?

PACQUIAO: No. We are not going to talk about that.

JENKINS: You are not talking that.

PACQUIAO: We didn't talk about that. He said congratulations in your last election as a congressman.

JENKINS: Did you share any discussion of politics, what you are trying to do in terms of poverty or build hospital or was there any discussion of policy that you talked about with the president?


PACQUIAO: No, we didn't talk about that.

JENKINS: Anything else you want to share?

PACQUIAO: I'm happy.

Source: foxnews.com