Pacquiao gets more than a prayer of a chance vs Bradley

Manny Pacquiao bows his head as poster Mike Johnson offers a prayer ahead of Pacquiao’s fight against Timothy Bradley. Photo by Rem Zamora/INQUIRER.net

HOLLYWOOD–Manny Pacquiao will head to Las Vegas on the wings of a prayer–quite literally.

A Sunday service morphed into a religious rah-rah session when a pastor enjoined churchgoers to pray for Pacquiao as he prepares for his third fight against American Timothy Bradley at MGM Grand on April 9.

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Pacquiao was present with his family, including mother Dionisia, who arrived here Saturday, and several members of team Pacquiao at Shepherd of the Hills Church along Allenford Avenue here.

The eight-division blended with the crowd at the auditorium of the Paul Revere Middle School, but was latter on called up to the stage towards the end of the service that lasted more than two hours.

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Pastor Mike Johnson, who led the service, led the special prayer for the “God’s true warrior.”

“We ask for protection that he would be safe, that he would win this fight,” Johnson said as the auditorium filled with churchgoers raised their hands and united in prayer for the people’s champion.

“We claim victory like we always do, but we let You definite what the victory is,” Johnson added.

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Pacquiao readily left for the parking lot, but his wife Jinkee and “Mommy D,” who was with boyfriend Michael Yamson, posed for photos with extended family members and granted interviews.

Afterwards, Pacquiao headed for his routine lunch at Japanese restaurant Kabuki, where he was flocked with fans asking for photos en route to the parking lot.

However, Pacquiao’s usually uneventful Sunday was disturbed by a heckler who shouted profanities towards the Filipino boxing champion as he was leaving the area.