On Saturday, May 7th, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao will wear yellow gloves when he fights 39-year old “Sugar” Shane Mosley. The Pacquiao vs Mosley fight will be at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Manny Pacquiao will defend his WBO Welterweight Belt versus former three-division world champion Shane Mosley in-front of the 16,800 sell-out crowd.
Pacman, a congressman in the Philippines, wants to fight Mosley with yellow gloves – not to deceive him of its bright and shady color – but to symbolize his fight against poverty and the unity of the Filipino people across the globe.
Manny Pacquiao came from a very poor family and there were times he’s never eaten in a day. He sells various kinds of stuffs in the streets just to help his mother financially. He went to Manila and Cebu to find work and train in boxing – and everything became a Cinderella story. Now, he is hailed as one of the highest paid athletes in the world and he is “officially” the richest congressman in the Philippines. Note the word “officially” because there might be other congressmen out there who earns illegally – sad but true.
Manny Pacquiao's speech during Final Press Conference
“All my life I’ve had to fight. As a child, I had to fight just to eat,” Pacquiao said. “The biggest fight in my life is not in boxing. The biggest fight in my life is how to end poverty in my country.”
Manny, who wants to make trends and make distinctions, will be the first boxer to wear yellow gloves. No one has ever worn a yellow glove in any boxing match – only red, blue, or burgundy are the traditional colors used by boxers.
Pacman is encouraging his fans to wear yellow shirts as a sign of unity – not only to Filipinos but to all the people in the world when he fights American Shane Mosley this Saturday.
Pacquiao did not finish his high-school education because of extreme poverty. Many laughed at him because of his grammar and diction – and probably even you, also laughed at him. Manny said in his speech in the Mosley vs Pacquiao final press conference that he will never stop his fight against poverty. He was born in Kibawe, Bukidnon and moved to General Santos City when he was at the age of reason. He was raised alone by his mother because his parents divorced when he was still a sixth grader.
Now, Manny has a lot of distinctions to add to his name. He is not only the first active boxer to become congressman but he is also the first boxer to win eight different world titles in eight different weight classes. He is the highest paid athlete in 2010 earning a total of $32 million for his two fights, against Joshua Clottey in March and Antonio Margarito in November. His endorsements, businesses, etc were not included in the figure.
Pacquiao is literally the jack-of-all-trades. He is an actor, comedian, singer/songwriter, basketball player and a lot more. This time he will add a new hat to his collection – the “poverty fighter” hat.
Pacman has formally partnered with the Gawad Kalinga (GK) Foundation, a non-government organization, in building houses for the poor. He wants to help needy families in the Philippines by providing them a place to live in. He doesn’t want to see families live in the slums and die of poverty.
By wearing yellow gloves in the Pacquiao-Mosley fight, with the support of the boxing fans that wear yellow shirts, the “fight for poverty” will bring much attention not only to the boxing community but to the whole world. Poverty is one of Philippines’ worst problems, with Pacquiao’s leadership this problem will surely end.
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4:56 AM
MasterofPuppets
