SACRAMENTO, California—Don’t laugh because Tim Lane might carve a niche for himself yet.
In a culture that thrives on novelty, boxer Chris Algieri’s trainer could end up a star on the American rubber chicken circuit.
I can’t wait for the late-night talk show hosts to feast on the bizarre advice Lane was feeding Algieri while the boxer was losing big time to Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao last Saturday.
Lane kept muttering “We are exactly where we need to be,” although everyone at the Cotai Arena of The Venetian Macao and the legions watching via pay-per-view knew his ward had no chance of winning.
All it takes is a funny plug from Pacquiao’s talk-show buddy Jimmy Kimmel for Lane to snatch top billing as the main monotony breaker during award dinners and conventions. Tim could speak with authority on a topic he knows best: How to squeeze blood out of a turnip.
Of course, Lane would have squeezed blood out of turnip before he could get something from Algieri last weekend.
Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole said Algieri, who traveled halfway around the world to Macau with a bravado he shared with Lane, “offered no resistance, appearing from the early stages of the fight as if he were more interested in surviving than fighting and trying to win.”
The best highlight of the monumental mismatch from Bob Arum, the P.T. Barnum of boxing, was the hilarious and serendipitous interview HBO’s Max Kellerman did with Lane.
In the ninth round of the WBO welterweight title bout, Lane told Kellerman: “Let me tell you what. He’s (Algieri) going to put him (Pacquiao) to sleep in a few minutes. I’m [going to] let him go in one more round. I still got him in a cage right now.
“I’m going to let him loose in round 10 or …” And before Lane could even finish his sentence, Pacquiao sent Algieri to the canvas with a blistering left straight and Algieri retreating in embarrassing silence.
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Under a year-long pact Pacquiao inked with AirAsia CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, the boxer’s face that’s familiar all over the world will be painted on the tails of a number of the airline’s red planes flying to several Asian cities. The airline operates a dozen jets in the Philippines.
So is the deal a blockbuster and a coup by the budget airline over the big boys like Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific to cash in on Pacquiao’s enormous drawing power and popularity?
“It can’t be a coup because the bigger airlines would not do anything like that,” said public relations sage Max Edralin Jr. “Pacquiao’s mug may not have much marketing value.”
Charlie Agatep, the PR guru who counts airlines among its clients, notes that “AirAsia flight destinations are not most traveled and may not make PAL or CebuPac passengers switch.
“AirAsia’s ability to attract passengers would have to be proven carrier efficiency, on time deliveries, and other flight conveniences,” said Manong Charlie. “Endorsements of airlines by celebrities are never effective and cannot replace straightforward infomercials.”