Pinning Down Manny Pacquiao

John Sedlar

Manny Pacquiao training with Freddie Roach

By Ashley Avis

A few moments with one of the finest boxers in modern history.

"Catch him yet?" Frank, the manager at the infamous Wild Card boxing gym on Vine street in Los Angeles, asked as I strode purposefully (...again) through the door. His tone was a mix of good natured sarcasm and a Cheshire I-know-something-you-don't.

I held up my third Redbull. Frank nodded, and gestured toward the long, thin, unfortunate looking wooden bench that I'd gotten to know intimately well over the past week. I sighed, and sat, wondering where the heck they'd been able to extract something this Medieval uncomfortable. Craigslist, probably.

It was hour four, Thursday... and I was determined to catch one guy. The best pound-for-pound boxer of -- potentially -- our entire generation was somewhere in Los Angeles, and I was dead set on interviewing him. I'd been able to extract a promise of eight minutes from the staff at Wild Card. Not ten... not five. Eight. "While he's wrapping his hands," Frank had said, "you can chat with him for a few moments then."

That was... if I could potentially intercept the guy: nobody ever seemed to know where the heck he was at any given time. As a high profile politician in addition to his boxing fame (Pacqiao was elected to the House of Representatives in 2010, representing the province of Sarangani in the 15th Congress of the Philippines), Pacquiao is absolutely off the map to anyone not hyper-selectively "in the know". It was like trying to track down Obama. Or a dragon.

Frank grinned out of the side of his mouth from the desk at the front, shaking his head.

I cracked the Redbull, flipping through the press kit put together for the May 7th fight in Vegas between Manny and former three-division champ "Sugar" Shane Mosely. Sugar. Huh. I wondered if Manny had a nickname. Perhaps once he showed up -- and we inevitably bonded -- we could concoct one for him.

The gym was quiet, peaceful almost, and for a moment I forgot about the Crap Bench and immersed myself in the history of Pacuiao, his six siblings, his rise to athletic and theatrical and political stardom...

Suddenly, screaming -- and the sound of a bowling ball or something very heavy falling from a third story building -- absolutely erupted outside.

I shot up from the bench, wondering if some kind of pre-post-Apocolyptic riot was starting. Each time I'd walked through the mini-mall archway to pseudo-stalk Pacquiao at the non-descript gym, at least thirty people... from age six to sixty... were standing outside. Either to consume the amazing Thai food at the spot next door, or to wait for an autograph from the elusive Pacquiao.

Sound of a bowling ball again. I peered through the glass.


"SIGN MY BABY!"

Manny was here.

. . A literal entourage concealed the athlete as he was ushered up the stairs to Wild Card, through the door, and into a back room. The fans waiting outside seemed to suddenly grow in numbers as if someone poured water on an human anthill... did somebody Twitter this? Pacquiao's in the house...! Have him sign your kid (I actually heard a woman yell this request). I understand fame and autographs and the History Making significance of his athletic career... but Sharpie to infant? Was that even legal?

I snapped out of my reverie as Frank motioned that it was time for me to come in. "He's wrapping his hands," he reiterated, "You have --"

I held up eight fingers. Frank smiled.

The room I entered thus was shockingly tiny, and four men (including Frank) were crammed in it, watching me extract my tiny silver tape recorder like there was a small chance I was somehow going to poison Pacquiao with it. I sat down. The boxer... this compact little person that carried on his shoulders the hopes, dreams, and political aspirations of so many -- continued wrapping. For all the ruckus, he seemed disarmingly serene. After a moment, he looked up.

Pacquiao smiled. "I tell you a little about my life, huh?". And with Frank starting at his watch, we began.

Bunker Hill: Tell me about your younger life. What initially inspired you to become a boxer?

Manny Pacquiao: There's a boxing event every Sunday in my [hometown]. First thing I... just, was fighting for fun with my friends. We'd go out to make money, and that was the beginning.

Bunker Hill: How old were you for your first fight?

Manny Pacquiao: I was 12 years old.

Bunker Hill: Did you win your first fight?

Manny Pacquiao: Yeah. That's why I like boxing! [laughs]

Bunker Hill: How many rounds?

Manny Pacquiao: It was three rounds, and then I won the fight.

Bunker Hill: When was your first professional fight? Did you win that one too?

Manny Pacquiao: I was sixteen years old. And yeah!

Bunker Hill: Did you hold any odd jobs when you were making your way up to fight in the professional world?

Manny Pacquiao: Before I started professional boxing... I used to work in construction

Bunker Hill: When did you feel like you reached a level of success where boxing wholly sustained you?

Manny Pacquiao: After my fight in Thailand... for the WBC Flyweight championship.

Bunker Hill: You're also an actor and politician. What drew you to those two careers in addition to being a boxer? The feeling of being on another stage?

Manny Pacquiao:I like acting because ... well, of course you make money in acting! [laughs], additional income. It's fun to act. If you do action, it's not real, it's fake. I started acting after I became successful in the boxing world.

Bunker Hill: How do you feel when people compare you to Muhammad Ali?

Manny Pacquiao: I don't know... because I never compare myself to anybody. I just want to give inspiration and happiness to the people.

Bunker Hill: What would your advice be to a young boxer to wants to emulate you?

Manny Pacquiao: My advice would be to focus on school, and if they really like boxing -- they love it -- then work hard. And don't forget to pray.

Bunker Hill: What initially inspired you to walk into this gym to train with Roach? Beyond the obvious names he's trained.

Manny Pacquiao: I believe God lead me here... as well as millions of fans supporting me and expecting a victory in every fight... not only in the Philippines, but all over the world, all of the fans, and of course my family. I want to make them all proud.

Bunker Hill: Your family... you have a wife and children?

Manny Pacquiao: Yes, I'm married... and I have four children.

Bunker Hill: Four, wow!

Manny Pacquiao: [laughs]. Yes. I met my wife in the mall... in a department store. I was eighteen years old. We were the same age. She's very supportive of my career. Before we celebrated my nineteenth birthday, I proposed.

Bunker Hill: How did you propose?

Manny Pacquiao: I just did it. It was easy!

Bunker Hill: [Everyone in the room laughs]. Not to everybody, Manny.

Manny Pacquiao: Well, we slept together... so...

Bunker Hill: Okay, switching gears!... onto your fight in Vegas against Mosley. How are you preparing for that?

Manny Pacquiao: [laughs] I train hard and focus on the training... I know it's going to be a hard job, because Mosley is not a slow fighter compared to my last fight with Margarito. Mosley is former pound for pound, he's a champion, and he still has very high speed and footwork. I'm looking forward to Vegas.

Bunker Hill: After you win in the ring... are you going to go try to win a bit at the tables?

Manny Pacquiao: Yes! I gamble a little... I like to play poker. Because as with fighting... in this game, you have to read the mind of your opponent.

With the sound of a final piece of tape, Manny was done wrapping. I got a look from Frank, and clicked off my recorder. The boxer stood up, and with a quick handshake -- strode out into the gym to begin a day of preparing for Mosley.

A Brief History

Pacquiao was born in December of '78 in Kibawe, Bukidon in Philippines. He's one of six children, and began (and completed) his elementary schooling in General Santos City... but dropped out of high school during a period where his family was facing extreme poverty. He moved to Manila at fourteen, and after working odd jobs and (for a time) living on the street -- Pacquiao started boxing.

At the age of sixteen, Pacquiao went pro. He was tiny at 4'11 and admitted later that he put weights in his pockets to make the mark. But there was no doubt after a fight against Edmund Ignacio in '95 -- Pacquiao was on the fast track to becoming a star of the world, and the rest of history.

Now, as 2011 rolls around -- Pacquiao is practically a household name and considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. In addition to his athletic and political pursuits, he is also reportedly in talks with Sylvester Stallone to co-star in an upcoming film.

Manny Pacquiao faces off against Shane Mosely on May 7th, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden arena in Las Vegas, and will be defending his WBO World Welterweight Title.

Hopefully the after-fight interview will conclude with Pacquiao stating 'it was easy' and meandering off to hit the poker tables. We can look forward to him kicking butt on ESPN and, maybe one day, starring in Rocky... VII?

Good luck, Manny.

 

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