MANILA, Philippines - After burning the lines with his promoter, his adviser and an emissary from Malacañang, Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao agreed to cut short his scheduled family vacation, fly straight to the Big Apple and receive his Fighter of the Year award from the Boxing Writers Association of America on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
Pacquiao reportedly had second thoughts on personally receiving his second Fighter of the Year award from the BWAA, and in fact flew to Bohol yesterday morning after spending a night in Cebu City with his family, including wife Jinkee and kids Jimuel, Michael, Princess and Queen Elizabeth, and close friends.
Pacquiao said in a TV interview last Tuesday his trip to New York has been postponed, raising speculations that he had decided to skip the glittery night for boxing at the Capitale in New York.
But a lot of people felt it wouldn’t be a nice move for him to skip the BWAA awards, and probably antagonize those behind the affair. Pacquiao found reason in the appeal of his promoter Bob Arum, adviser Wakee Salud and a high-ranking government official for him to take today’s 8 a.m. direct flight to New York.
Pacquiao will arrive there Friday morning, and can still afford a few hours of rest before gracing the BWAA dinner. The following evening he is also scheduled to watch the Miguel Cotto-Josh Clottey fight at Madison Square Garden along with Freddie Roach, who will receive the Trainer of the Year for the third time.
An insider said President Arroyo had wanted to personally talk to Pacquiao but the chief executive decided against it. Instead, a Cabinet official was tasked to try and help convince the boxer that skipping the affair “may not be good for the country’s image.”
It all worked, and Pacquiao said he never really wanted to snub the affair, and only wanted to take his family to Bohol, leave them behind, go to New York to accept his award, and fly back home as soon as possible to rejoin the family vacation.
“Manny will be back in Manila on Monday, and should be back with his family as soon as possible,” said Salud who wasn’t sure if the boxer would still get the chance to watch the fight of Cotto, one of the many fighters being considered as Pacquiao’s next opponent.
Pacquiao left Bohol yesterday afternoon and was scheduled to be in Manila at around 6 p.m.
According to the official Major League website, Pacquiao is also scheduled to throw the ceremonial pitch in the LA Dodgers game against the Oakland As on June 17. But they may never get to see the boxer throw that pitch as he did for the San Francisco Giants last April and the California Angels two years ago.
The family vacation for the Pacquiao’s had long been delayed, and this latest twist apparently left Jinkee disappointed. They had planned to go to Australia last June 1, and then to New York, Los Angeles or even Mexico. Now they’re in Bohol, and Pacquiao had to leave them once more to honor a big commitment.
Michael Marley of The Examiner yesterday wrote that it was Arum who managed to convince Jinkee to let Pacquiao go for just a couple of days.
“I spoke to Manny first and I then spoke to Jinkee. I told them the reasons I felt strongly that Manny should show up. I mentioned that the American public and the media have been good to Manny and he should acknowledge their great support,” Arum was quoted as saying.
The MLB website said Pacquiao’s visit to Dodger Stadium is aimed at helping the sales for the Dodgers’ upcoming Filipino Heritage Night on Aug. 18. On select nights throughout the season, the Dodgers will honor fans from all over the world and the Los Angeles community in special sections that will celebrate culture through food and a commemorative limited edition “Dodgertown, Philippines” t-shirt. - By Abac Cordero (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)
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