'Wolverine' picks Manny over Floyd

MANILA, Philippines - Count Hugh Jackman as among the Hollywood heavyweights rooting for Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao.

That’s if the superfight between Pacquiao and undefeated American Floyd Mayweather Jr. ever takes place.

“Ohh!!! I have a funny feeling in my gut that Pacquiao would win that fight,” Jackman told www.ringtv.com yesterday.

The 43-year-old actor known for his role as Wolverine in the X-Men series said it could be a decision for Pacquiao over Mayweather.

“I don’t think that it would be a knockout. I think that it would be a decision. There’s no doubt that it would be close,” said Jackman, who turns 43 on Oct. 12.

Jackman spoke to Lem Satterfield as the Australian stage actor, singer, dancer and producer promoted his upcoming flick, “Real Steel.”

In this new movie he plays the role of a “down-on-his-luck” boxer whose fights, all 43 of them, have ended in a knockout, win or lose.

Aside from Jackman, other heavyweight actors rooting for Pacquiao are Mark Wahlberg, Sylvester Stallone, Denzel Washington and Mickey Rourke.

Wahlberg often dropped by at the Wild Card Gym when Pacquiao was training as he geared up for his boxing movie, “The Fighter.”

“I’m hoping, one day, to go to the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight,” said Jackman.

Pacquiao, meanwhile, will wrap up his three-week training in Baguio City today as he prepares to shift his training in Los Angeles.

Pacquiao travels to Manila after his workout at the Shape Up Gym in Baguio, and should be sparring in Manila tomorrow.

They travel to Los Angeles on Sunday evening, and resume training at the Wild Card Gym the following day. – With report from Artemio Dumlao