How Being in Politics Can Hurt Manny Pacquiao's Boxing Skills
On May 10, Manny Pacquiao made a transition from beloved Pilipino icon to one of the most powerful men in the Philippines when he won election to the country’s House of Representatives. It was the culmination of months of campaigning and years of planning for Pacquiao, who said that he plans on using his new status as an elected official to provide a platform to advance the causes impacting the poor and less fortunate citizens of the Philippines.
However, the campaign for the seat also took its toll on Pacquiao. Polls showed that despite his overwhelming popularity within the country and position as the number one hero of the Philippine people, he was in a close race for election. In the weeks leading up to voting, Pacquiao campaigned throughout the country at a feverish pace, working for 18 hours a day in an attempt to get every vote possible. Winning the election was welcome relief, but it also cost him - he was forced to spend a weekend in the hospital with severe stomach pains. According to Pacquiao, the stress and lack of sleep combined with his unhealthy diet in rushing to events to exacerbate an existing stomach ailment.
The election turned out to be an almost 2-to-1 rout for Pacquiao and the hospitalization turned out to be rather minor; Pacquiao was in New York this past weekend to watch the Miguel Cotto vs. Yuri Foreman fight at Yankee Stadium and receive the “Boxer of the Year” and “Boxer of the Decade” awards from the Boxing Writers Association of America. However, it did highlight a concern that several people have raised since Pacquiao announced his intention to run for Congress in the Philippines - can Pacquiao balance being a political figure with the demands of maintaining his place as an elite fighter.
Being a boxer is a full-time job - even when a fight isn’t coming up, Pacquiao still needs to keep himself in tip-top shape. He’s been able to do that in the past despite having a wide range of extracurricular activities ranging from making his own pop albums to starring in action films in the Philippines. However, the burden of being a powerful politician is much greater on Pacquiao than dabbling in films or music. If one of his entertainment activities is a bust, he can simply shrug it off and get back into the ring. But as the lone representative of the district of Sarangani, Pacquiao represents the concerns of hundreds of thousands of his fellow Filipinos.
In short, being an elected official places a burden on Pacquiao’s time that his other, non-boxing entities have never done before. While Pacquiao has a strong support network in place to help him with the day-to-day operations of his political career, Pacquiao is still going to be expected to take his seat on the floor of the General Assembly in Manila on a regular basis and be an active participant in the daily political activities in the country. His opponents claimed that this was something that he could not commit to doing while continuing to box, and there will be great pressure on him to maintain his campaign vows that he can mix politics and boxing.
The whole situation lends credence to Pacquiao’s stated goal to retire from boxing after one more fight - preferably a clash against Floyd Mayweather Jr. later this year. While Pacquiao might be able to pour his emotional and physical resources into training for one more huge fight, it might not be realistic for him to do so for several fights a year while maintaining his role as an elected official.
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