Same Manny from before

Take it from someone who nearly took over as Manny Pacquiao’s manager in 1999. The WBO welterweight champion hasn’t changed in terms of his attitude, personality and sincerity despite his success in life, according to Ever Bilena chairman Dioceldo Sy.

Last week, Sy and friend Wilbert Loa visited Pacquiao in General Santos City to wish him luck for his title defense against Cris Algieri in Macau on Nov. 23. Sy and Loa watched Pacquiao train for over three hours in the gym then they got together for a long chat while the fighter took his recovery food.

Sy is also team owner of Blackwater Elite, one of two expansion franchises in the PBA this season. Loa is Blackwater’s alternate governor in the PBA Board. They go back a long way. Loa’s older brother Benedict, who now lives in Vancouver, was Sy’s friend from years ago. Sy and Loa are both passionate basketball fans and the sport brought them together. When Sy took Blackwater to the PBA D-League, he invited Loa to get involved with the team. Loa is a successful businessman in his own right. He is well-known for Vital-C Health Products and the six Tao Yuan Restaurants all over the country. Vital-C is the official Vitamin C of the PBA.

Sy recalled that in 1997, Asi Taulava had just flown in and stayed in his factory quarters in Caloocan. Taulava played for Sy’s team Blu Detergent in the PBL. To get Taulava in shape, Sy paid Pacquiao P200 to accompany the Fil-Tongan in jogging around the PICC complex for three hours in the morning.

“Sometimes, I would pick up Manny at the Doña Josefa Apartments on Quirino and once when I came in my new Ford Expedition, Manny asked when he would be able to afford a car like that,” said Sy. “Manny will never forget Asi and of course, Asi will never forget Manny. When they used to jog, Manny would finish six laps and Asi was still on his third. One day, Manny asked if I wanted to take over his contract. Manny owed P800,000 to his manager so I thought I would pay P1 million for his contract with P800,000 to settle his debt and there would still be a balance of P200,000. When word got around that I was interested to buy his contract, I got a call one night from someone threatening me to stay away. I asked my father what he thought about it and he advised me to back out.”

Sy said he once offered Pacquiao a P200,000 deal to endorse Shark Energy Drink but his Thai principals turned it down. “I gave Manny his check and I remember as he held it, he asked if it was for real,” he said. “Manny still wasn’t well-known at that time and the Thais who owned Shark didn’t think he was the right endorser. Even if the endorsement didn’t push through, I wanted Manny to keep the money because I believe in him. I knew one day, he would become a star.”

Through the years, Sy had lost contact with Pacquiao until the PBA opening day at the Philippine Arena last Oct. 19. Pacquiao, playing coach of Kia, went up against Sy’s Blackwater Elite. Kia won, 80-66. After the game, Sy and Pacquiao embraced and shook hands.

“I didn’t think Manny would remember me after all these years,” said Sy. “He’s become very successful as a fighter, politician and businessman. I never expected him to remember me. Later, I texted him to ask if I could visit him in GenSan and he texted back saying he would expect me.”

Sy said it was like old times when Pacquiao chatted with him after training last week. “He hasn’t changed,” said Sy. “He’s still the same humble guy. He remembers jogging with Asi, all the things that happened to him on the way to success. He has an amazing memory. Manny’s much happier now that he’s back with his old team, Justin (Fortune) is back with Freddie (Roach) and Buboy (Fernandez). He likes it when he gets together with his original friends. He knows who his real friends are, the ones who stick with him through thick and thin.”

Pacquiao spoke freely about his future plans. He told Sy he would run for the Senate under Vice President Jojo Binay’s ticket in the next elections and that Jinkee would no longer be involved in politics. Pacquiao said he offered Jinkee to take over his Congressional seat or run for reelection as vice governor.

Pacquiao also spoke about his first visit to the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles in 2001. That was the year when Pacquiao and business manager Rod Nazario ventured to the US to seek greener pastures. At first, they looked around for a trainer in San Francisco and nobody was interested. So Pacquiao and Nazario took a Greyhound bus to Los Angeles where they knew several fighters in the Elorde stable were holed up. One of the Elorde fighters was Ernesto Rubillar.  When Pacquiao was introduced to Roach at the Wild Card Gym, it was like love at first sight. After a few rounds with the mitts, Roach and Pacquiao knew they were meant for each other.

In his first US fight, Pacquiao went up against IBF superbantamweight champion Lehlo Ledwaba in the Oscar de la Hoya-Javier Castillejo undercard at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. In the dressing room before the bout, Pacquiao recalled that Nazario and his small group of friends looked worried. So to brighten up the mood, Pacquiao raised his arms and said to imagine the ring announcer proclaiming him as the new IBF superbantamweight titlist after the fight. Roach later said he wanted to place a bet on Pacquiao but Ledwaba was such a heavy favorite at 60-to-1 that no one would take his wager. Pacquiao also remembered that as he walked out of the dressing room to begin his march to the ring, Nazario asked him to bust Ledwaba’s nose with his first punch. He did as he was told. Ledwaba bled from the nose in the first round and never recovered. Pacquiao won by knockout in the sixth round.

Pacquiao also spoke about his suit against promoter Murad Muhammad and the trial that took place in New York in 2005. The case was settled out of court. “I never got a cent from the settlement,” he said. “I didn’t complain. But when my contract expired (with his American manager), I just didn’t renew it. The manager even went to GenSan trying to get a renewal. I wasn’t born yesterday. I didn’t need a manager because I could manage my own career. What I needed was a good promoter.” That promoter turned out to be Bob Arum.