First Gentleman roots for Manny at ringside

Once again, Manny Pacquiao can count on First Gentleman Mike Arroyo’s morale support when he fights Erik Morales on Jan. 21 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The First Gentleman, an avid fan of the Filipino boxing icon, is scheduled to leave for the US a week before the fight and for the third straight time watch it from ringside.

Arroyo was there when Pacquiao lost to Morales at the MGM Grand, last March. He was there, too, when Pacquiao defeated Hector Velasquez at the Staples Center in Los Angeles last September.

The First Gentleman came with daughter Luli when he watched Pacquiao’s most recent bout, which ended in six rounds.

Tessa Mangahas, project director of the First Gentleman Foundation, said the First Gentleman’s decision to watch the Jan. 21 fight is the reason why the latter can’t attend the Philippine Sportswriters Association Annual Awards.

The affair is scheduled Jan. 14 at the Manila Pavilion. The national athletes who won the overall crown in the recent Southeast Asian Games will be feted that night as well as the other sports achievers in 2005.

The First Gentleman played a major role in the success of the Filipino athletes. Through the help of the private sector, he helped raise more than P160 million for the training of the athletes here and abroad.

During Pacquiao’s initial encounter with Morales, the First Gentleman was just among the countless Filipino celebrities and VIPs who came to the fabulous MGM Grand.

Mayors, governors, congressmen and even a couple of senators were there as well as showbiz figures, some of them spending more than a hundred thousand pesos for plane tickets and accommodation.

There’s no word yet whether they’ll all be back this time.