Champ wages fight versus poverty

LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao came to Wednesday’s final press conference dressed like a politician. For the first time in many occasions, he also came on time.

He is now a politician, a newly elected congressman in the Philippines. At the Hollywood Theater of the MGM Grand, he showed that he’s more than just a boxer.

“All my life I had to fight as a child. I had to fight just to eat,” Pacquiao said, facing the members of the boxing media, all here like there’s an ongoing convention.

“But now when I fight Filipinos call me bayani or hero. I believe this world needs more heroes,” said the boxer, at 32 being hailed as the best ever to grace the sport.

He came in a dark business suit, and had a prepared speech on hand.

“The biggest fight of my life is not in boxing,” he said. “The biggest fight of my life is how to end poverty in my country. On Saturday, I will wear yellow gloves as a sign of unity.”

A mild applause greeted him. He sent his message across.

Yellow is considered the national color of the Philippines, where the unfortunate survive on a meager income of $2 a day, or even less, or none at all.

“Yellow is a symbol of unity. That’s the color of our President,” said Pacquiao of President Aquino, son of the slain martyr, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, and the former President, Corazon “Cory” Aquino.

When Ninoy was felled by an assassin’s bullet in 1983, the wife, Cory, used the color yellow as the symbol of the fight for democracy.

Pacquiao knows his nation’s history. He, and Mosley perhaps, will wear yellow gloves on fight night.

“We can help the poor more if we are united, if we are together,” said Pacquiao, who just the other day was named the richest congressman in the Philippines.

Pacquiao is a giver, and on any given day he can spend hundreds of thousands of pesos on doleouts, that once, his mother warned him to leave some for himself, his family.

“When you die, you can’t take your money to heaven with you. I’m already satisfied with what I have. I thank God for what he gives us every day,” he said.

He sends children to school even if they’re not his own, and provides for beds in provincial hospitals. When this fight is over, up next is the groundbreaking of the hospital he’s building in his province of Sarangani.

Pacquiao also spoke of The Gawad Kalinga Foundation, a non-government organization that provides homes and livelihood programs for the poor.

“We need to be united. So, I like to invite you all to wear yellow on Saturday. Unity is the best weapon,” he added.

Pacquiao almost forgot about the other mission on hand, which is to beat Shane Mosley on Saturday at the MGM, and defend his WBO welterweight crown.

As Pacquiao spoke, Mosley sat and listened just a couple of feet away.

“Is this the kind of man I’d be trying to beat in the ring?” Mosley must have asked himself.

“It speaks well of him,” he said later on.

“He’s a great person,” added Mosley.

In their face-off, before the cameras after the press conference, Pacquiao and Mosley smiled at one another, briefly held hands, and looked like dear, old friends.

So, what could motivate them to fight?

“It’s the sport,” said Mosley.

“We understand it. We’re not trying to hurt anybody or kill anybody. If a knockout comes it happens. He’s a great person. I’m a great person and we love to fight.”

Even when Pacquiao is around, you can forget about boxing, as the brutal sport.