MANILA - Manny Pacquiao returned home yesterday to a victory parade through Manila, vowing to keep on boxing even as he battles for a congressional seat in May elections.
“I will continue boxing, because first of all, it brings pride to our country,” he told reporters after arriving from the US.
Pacquiao, 28, stopped Mexico’s Jorge Solis with a powerful right hand in the eighth round Saturday night in San Antonio, Texas. He holds the WBC international super featherweight belt.
Thousands of well-wishers lined the streets of downtown Manila as Pacquiao, standing in an open pickup truck, waved back.
“It is for all, not only for me. That’s my livelihood. I will not make a career out of politics,” he said.
The former baker and construction worker has become a national hero and an inspiration to many after becoming world champion despite his poor upbringing. Nearly half of the Philippines’ 88 million people live on $2 a day.
He is now running for the House of Representatives seat of his South Cotabato province under the pro-administration wing of the Liberal Party in the May 14 polls.
“I can do both as long as I have self-discipline,” he said, referring to juggling boxing and politics.
After his eighth-round knockout of Solis last Sunday, Pacquiao is now eyeing Juan Manuel Marquez’s WBC super featherweight belt in September.
Pacquiao downed Marquez thrice in the first round of their 2004 fight but the Mexican managed to fight back for a contested draw.
Marquez won the WBC crown after beating another Pacquiao victim, Marco Antonio Barrera last March 18.
“Yes, I’m ready to fight Marquez,” Pacquiao said in a report posted at Philboxing.com
Yesterday, after touching down in Manila, Pacquiao met with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who hailed him as “the people’s champion” who “once again brought victory and pride to the nation.
“His physical strength is matched by a tenacious will to uplift his countrymen with every win,” Arroyo said in a statement. “We welcome him home as the people’s idol, and this generation’s shining light.”
Arroyo gave him a cake in the colors of the Philippine flag with a molded boxing glove on it. She also said the victory raised the morale of her husband, who is a big Pacquiao fan and was at ringside for his last victory in Las Vegas, as he recovers from major heart surgery. (ML/with AP)
