Pacquiao Returns to Ring to Fight for WBO Welterweight Title

On Saturday, Senator Manny Pacquiao battles Jessie Vargas for the WBO welterweight title at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas as he takes a brief break from his political duties.

Pacquiao said he was going into retirement from boxing and focus on his political career. His announcement was made after his unanimous decision over Timothy Bradley in April.

Despite winning the election to the senate in the Philippines in May, Pacquiao, 37, decided on another challenge in the ring and found it against Vargas. The American pugilist is 10 years younger and enjoys a 4-inch advantage in reach and a 4 1/2 inch height advantage.

Senator Pacquiao (58-6-2), boxing’s only eight-division world champion, is contending to become a three-time WBO welterweight champion.

During the run-up to the bout, Pacquiao said that he feels he still has a lot to prove. “I am not done with boxing. I will continue to keep fighting as long as I love boxing and boxing still loves me. And I do not feel old.”

Furthermore, Manny is fighting for history. He was the first active congressman to win a world title. He wants to be the first senator to become world champion.

According to Pacquiao, it took discipline to manage his time efficiently and to balance his senatorial duties and his training camp. He ran every morning and did his strength and conditioning. He worked with Freddie Roach every evening at the gym after work. “Between the two ‘jobs’ I was averaging 14-hour workdays.”

Vargas on a Mission

Vargas is confident that whipping boxing legend Pacquiao would place him on another level. He would defend the title for the first time after winning it in March.

“It would definitely put me on the world-wide stage, make me that boxing star that I have been looking forward to being,” said Vargas (27-1).

The only fighters to defeat Manny Pacquiao have become legends themselves, he said. Vargas plans to become one of the few to beat Manny Pacquiao.

 

The post Pacquiao Returns to Ring to Fight for WBO Welterweight Title appeared first on Newsline.

Philippine Boxing Legend Pacquiao; No Apology For Drug Use

Philippine boxing superstar and Senator Manny Pacquiao admitted to the use of illegal drugs in the past. However, he maintained he owed nobody, including his fans and countrymen, an apology.

Proclaimed a national hero, the sportsman is a prestigious supporter of his president’s violent war on drugs. The casualty count from President Rodrigo Duterte’s war presently stands at more the 3,000 fatalities.

In an interview this week, he confessed to using narcotics in his teenaged years.

“I’m not hiding the fact that I sampled those, but I was young, maybe 15 or 16 years old,” he said to reporters. At the moment, Pacquiao undergoes training for his WBO fight against top welterweight Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas on November 5.

He said, “I used marijuana, I used shabu,” even mentioning the types of drugs he used.

Locals dubbed crystal meth stimulant “Shabu”, which also happens to be the primary narcotic choice of roughly 3.7 million Filipino addicts.

The boxer/senator firmly encourages Duterte’s anti-drug campaign. A crusade condemned internationally for assumed extrajudicial killings.

He also endorses the President’s plan to reinstate the death penalty for convicted drug dealers in the predominantly Catholic country.

Not an addict

On his refusal to apologize, he stated, “Why should I say sorry to them? I did nothing wrong.”

“Also, I was not addicted. I just experienced it,” he added when a reporter asked if he turned out as a drug dependent.

Pacquiao said that he came out with his admission and related his experience to inspire drug users. If they surrender to the authorities, they can expect leniency and avoid execution in the crackdown.

It all boils down to pure willpower according to him. He focused on sports to force himself from drug abuse.

“Everyone knows that I drank, I gambled and had many women, but realized these were all sins so I stopped. I’m sure what I did for myself was an inspiration to all.”

“It’s up to the person if he really wants to have a fresh start.”

“God gave all of us a brain to discipline ourselves,” he added further.

The post Philippine Boxing Legend Pacquiao; No Apology For Drug Use appeared first on Newsline.