MANILA, Philippines - A legendary comedian and a retired NBA star have added their names to the distinguished list of celebrities who’ve come over to watch Manny Pacquiao train.
Don Rickles, at 84 still making people laugh, was at the Wild Card Gym a few days ago, his rare visit made possible by Pacquiao’s promoter, 79-year-old Bob Arum.
Arum sounded mesmerized that Rickles, at his age, is still kicking.
“I think Don is about 84 now but he looks terrific. His mind is still sharp and he was doing insults,” Arum told Michael Marley of The Examiner.
“We stayed watching Manny work like an animal for two and a half hours. When we left, Manny was still working. Don has been around all the great fighters and he said he never saw anything like it.”
“When the original insult comic, the octogenarian (meaning he’s even older than Bob Arum) Don Rickles pays personal attention to a boxer, that is huge,” Marley wrote.
Also dropping by at the gym last week was Jalen Rose, the 6-foot-8 guard who played for Denver, Indiana, Chicago, Toronto, New York and Phoenix from 1994 to 2006. Rose, a member of the Wolverines “Fab Five” in the NCAA, stood so tall he looked like he could touch the ceiling of the Hollywood gym with his feet on the ground.
Rose, who now works as a sports analyst, stepped inside the ring, and Pacquiao stepped on a wooden stool before pictures were taken. They both smiled and posed like boxers.
“I’m a big Manny Pacquiao fan,” he said.
Rose, who once led the Pacers in scoring, was asked about the forthcoming fight between Pacquiao and Shane Mosley, and played it safe.
“It’s a tough call to pick between him and Shane. Sugar Shane is a vet. He asked for this fight and he got this fight, but I think Pacquiao has too much speed and too much power. I’m a big fan of both fighters though. It’s going to be a great fight,” he went on.
Hollywood celebrities have come to visit Pacquiao in training, superstars as big as Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Mickey Rourke, Jeremy Piven and Jessica Alba, to name a few.
Sylvester Stallone, also known as “Rocky,” hadvisited Pacquiao in his Los Angeles home, while Denzel Washington once found his way inside Pacquiao’s dressing room.
At the Jimmy Kimmel Show, Pacquiao once sang a duet with comedial Will Ferrell.
The Boston Celtics are big Pacquiao fans as well, and last year the team presented Pacquiao a framed jersey, bearing the name of the Filipino boxing icon with the No. 1 on it.
Pacquiao has been named an honorary member of the Boston Celtics, who have the most number of NBA titles at 17.
Last February, the fighting congressman from the Philippines even got to meet President Barrack Obama.
At the White House.