Huge crowds cheered Filipino boxing star Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao as a convoy paraded him from Manila’s slums to the presidential palace in a government-declared national celebration yesterday for his latest win.
Pacquiao’s stunning second-round knockout that dethroned IBO light welterweight champion Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas on May 3 cemented his image as the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter and his massive popularity at home.
His victory set off celebrations across the Philippines, where the 30-year-old has created a fanatical following bridging the divide between rich and poor.
Shanty dwellers jostled along filthy sidewalks in Manila’s Tondo slum district to get a glimpse of Pacquiao, whose phenomenal rise from crushing poverty as a street vendor to world fame has become the subject of at least one film.
Pacquiao smiled and waved while children threw mock punches as his long motorcade passed by.
“He’s still my idol though I didn’t get a cent from his big win,” said garbage collector Renato Baldivia, 43, flashing a toothless smile.
The parade was abruptly cut short to allow Pacquiao to go to the Malacanang Palace, where Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, her Cabinet and members of Congress showered him with confetti. They enjoyed a sumptuous lunch in a banquet hall and then ate a cake emblazoned with the Philippine flag.
Three tenors serenaded Pacquiao with a rendition of his songs — one of his many side interests that includes acting.
Pacquiao presented his IBO light welterweight champion belt to Arroyo then gave her and her husband his team’s sports jackets.
Arroyo wore hers over her dress, grabbed a microphone and threw questions at him like a fan.
“Did Hatton hurt you?” Arroyo asked.
“Not so much,” Pacquiao replied. “On top of the ring, I thought he was bigger and stronger. But no, he could not take the punch of the Filipino nation.”
Arroyo presented him with an encased copy of a presidential proclamation, which called for a national celebration yesterday for Pacquiao. It described him as a “boxing legend” whose “life and victories inspire the Filipinos to have resiliency and dedication to triumph against all odds.”
“He used to sleep in cardboard boxes and wear hand-me-down shirts. Now he dons Armani suits as befits the world’s top ring gladiator,” wrote sports analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz in yesterday’s Manila Standard Today.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III urged Pacquiao last week to postpone his homecoming and observe a self-quarantine for five days because the swine flu virus has spread in Los Angeles, where Pacquiao stayed after the Hatton fight.
But Pacquiao defied the advice, saying he and his entourage did not have flu symptoms.
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