Bob Arum Says Manny Pacquiao Transcends Boxing
Bob Arum can’t box, but he sure knows how to throw a compliment. The well-known boxing promoter said recently that since Manny Pacquiao was elected as Congressman to the Sarangani Province on May 10th, the world champion fighter “can transform the Filipino nation, rid the country of corruption and be seen as a true leader.”
He continued: “We all know this century is going to be Asia’s century, with China, India and Malaysia on the rise, and they can go with that wave. This is an adventure far more important than landing with left and right hands in a ring. I’m at an age that I probably won’t see this come to fruition, but I hope I do. I really see this kid who lived on the streets, who didn’t even graduate from high school, and whose learning came recently, becoming the instrument of change in his country.”
Arum has rapped positively about Pacquiao in the past, but this appears to be a whole new level of praise, believable or not. When Arum was visiting the Filipino boxing star at home during the election campaign, he was apparently taken by the boxer’s civility and political tact.
“I found out things there [in Sarangani] I couldn’t even believe, saw Manny speaking in different dialects, and although I could not understand what he was saying in his rallies, I could tell from the cadence just how he whipped up the crowd and that he is a fantastic orator. Not just good – fantastic.”
In May Pacquiao traded in his gloves for a barong. He was among local officials who took oaths of office in the capital of Sarangani province, the location in which he democratically defeated an adversarial political clan.
"I will be more effective in politics than in boxing," Pacquiao said to a crowd of over 3,000 after the ceremonies. The 31-year-old pledged to work on infrastructure improvements, medical services, and provincial security during his three-year tenure in parliament.
Pacquiao is incredibly popular in his native Philippines. In 2009 he was voted the Philippine Sportswriter Associations’ Athlete of the Decade.
Bob Arum continued his undivided support for Pacquiao, whom he represents formally in the ring. “In another era he could have been a leader. Had he come earlier he would have probably been the resistance leader against invading nations. People don’t really see that in the US in his boxing career because he’s not really confident speaking English.”
Amidst doubts Pacquiao would have the adequate time to be a political leader, Arum noted that boxers have “tremendous downtime,” in the sense that fighters fight once or twice a year, using up the rest of their energies merely on training and preparing for fights.
“He is up there with Muhammad Ali. Here was Ali, a brilliant talent considered by so many to be a blowhard. People would not listen to him in the beginning about all the historic influence on race relations, on progress made in this country, but look how he changed peoples’ views on the Vietnam War. Without Ali there would not be a President Obama. Ali, in his way, had resonated far, far beyond his exploits in the ring. That is what Manny is about to achieve.”
Without taking anything away from Pacquiao or his projected plans, which are undoubtedly noble, it does seem that Arum is taking an opportunity to promote himself through one of his best fighters. However, if his words are sincere, Pacquiao obviously has a big fan in his ex-promoter.
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