Philippine boxing hero Manny Pacquiao yesterday brushed off Floyd Mayweather Jr’s latest taunts, saying he pitied his US rival as he urged him to read the Bible.
Pacquiao also assured fans that he would play a few minutes of professional basketball when the new season opens next month, even while he trains for a match in Macau in November against unbeaten American Chris Algieri.
Despite calls by boxing fans for the two biggest names in the sport finally to meet, Mayweather has refused to commit to a match, but has not refrained from baiting Pacquiao.
Photo: AFP
In his latest jibe, Mayweather — undefeated in 47 fights — recently posted several pictures on his social media account, showing Pacquiao knocked down in his past fights.
He added that “Miss Pac Man is broke for a pay day.”
The deeply religious Pacquiao, who has 56 wins and five losses, said: “I’m not affected by it. I pity him and I pray that someday he would change his ways.”
“He [Mayweather] should fear God,” Pacquiao said, advising him to heed the biblical passage reading “For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”
The 35-year-old Pacquiao, who has held world titles in eight separate weight divisions, has other things to worry about than Mayweather’s insults.
Aside from training to defend his WBO welterweight title against Algieri, he is also acting as coach and player for the newly created Kia Motors team in the highly-competitive Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
The 1.69m Pacquiao said he would make training for the fight his main priority, leaving most of his basketball duties to his assistant coach.
“I already talked to [boxing] coach Freddie [Roach] that I am going to play in the PBA maybe just two to three minutes. My focus is on my training for the November fight,” he said.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and