Seven-division titlist and WBO welterweight (147 pounds) king Manny Pacquiao was in Las Vegas on Friday, where the Filipino congressman attended a rally for United States Senator Harry Reid, D-Nevada, at the local Orr Middle School.
The 31-year-old Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 knockouts) was at the rally as a break from this week's training at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif., where he is preparing for a Nov. 13 main event at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas of an HBO pay-per-view televised Top Rank Promotions' WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) title clash opposite former titlist Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KOs).
"That was a great thing that Manny did for Harry, who is a very dear friend of mine. I think that Harry is really important to this country and that he has gotten really such a bad rap because of all of these Tea Party people," said Top Rank Promotions' CEO, Bob Arum. "So, you know, I explained to Manny what Harry stands for, and that's what Manny stands for, and so they really bonded together well."Reid was taken by the story of Pacquiao, who is pursuing his eighth crown in as many weight divisions.
A Philippines' congressman who has been named Fighter of the Year in 2008, 2009 and 2010, as well as Fighter of the Decade, Pacquiao is a cross-over star who was born into poverty, left a family that could no longer afford to feed him, spent homeless nights sleeping outside and days scrounging for food.
"Manny Pacquiao and I came from different parts of the world, but we came on the same side of the street," Reid said of Pacquiao, who is being interviewed by 60 Minutes for a feature that will be aired on Nov. 8, the Sunday prior to his bout with Margarito.
"Manny fights for those who cannot fight for themselves," said Reid. "It's not enough to fight yourself. It's not enough to want to be a champion. We want to be champions for others."
Pacquiao has been the subject of large, or front page features in Time Magazine, the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and ESPN's Body Issue -- the latter along with athletes such as Dwight Howard and Serena Williams.
In December, Pacquiao was named among Time Magazine's Top 25 People Who Mattered in 2009 -- listed alphabetically right behind president Barack Obama.
"There are thousands of politicians in this world. But there's only one top boxer," Bob Simon of 60 Minutes told Elie Seckbach of FanHouse. "Manny Pacquiao is the best of the best. We go for the best of the best. If he was the number two fighter in the world, we wouldn't cover him."
On Monday, Pacquiao is slated to make his third appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Live Show, just as he did on Nov. 3 of 2009, and, on March 3 earlier this year.
Pacquiao's previous appearances on Jimmy Kimmel preceded his 12th-round knockout of Miguel Cotto and his 12-round unanimous decision over Joshua Clottey, respectively, in November and March, the latter being in the first-ever fight at Cowboys Stadium.
Since losing to Erik Morales in March 2005, Pacquiao is 12-0 with eight knockouts. That run includes two knockouts of Morales, victories over Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez and, in his last four bouts, knockouts of David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and Cotto.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
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