Manny Pacquiao gets hit with a solid right by Juan Manuel Marquez. AP
Take it from Mexican boxing great Juan Manuel Marquez, who certainly knows what the noble and elusive commodity is all about. The legacy of Manny Pacquiao will not and should not be affected by the damning remarks he had made against the sexual preferences of homosexuals.
It’s a totally different issue, Marquez said.
“Pacquiao’s legacy will not be stained, it’s something separate,” Marquez told BoxingScene.com.
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Marquez said there’s no doubt about the quality of Pacquiao the boxer, a 10-division world title winner who “is about to write the final chapter of his career.”
“But there are times when a fish dies by its mouth,” stated Marquez, who stung and stopped Pacquiao with a spear shot to the chin in 2012.
Marquez did not have to elaborate. He was also trying to sound off a warning.
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Curiously, it was doubtful if Pacquiao is listening at all.
“I’m not bothered, that’s the world! Jesus lives in me and I’m always happy,” Pacquiao was quoted Monday by Sports Illustrated as having told Boxingscene.com.
That was clearly an overnight snap from the remorseful stance Pacquiao had taken after he received worldwide flak following his damning statement against abnormal same-sex marriage practices.
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For the record, Pacquiao has been generally perceived as both irresponsible and careless with his statement against the gay society.
“He should have just said he disapproved of the anomalous practices,” said Mandaluyong City councilor Louie Espinosa, sportsman and side-street evangelist.
If in boxing, Espinosa said there was no need to jump in, recklessly, for a knockout.
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Pacquiao did project himself as shallow and predictable, thereby exposing himself to damning criticisms from practically all sectors of society.
That was all to be expected.
What’s rather perplexing is his latest turnaround, when he suddenly shunned criticisms and made it appear he has not figured in something reprehensible.
Meanwhile, there’s no reason to doubt Timothy Bradley and trainer Ted Atlas have also been closely monitoring Pacquiao’s latest misadventure outside the boxing ring.
The opposing camp definitely takes pleasure in observing how carefree Pacquiao continues to throw caution to the wind.