By Michael Marley
Manny Pacquiao and his lovely wife, Jinkee, could be described as knocked out by their meeting with President Barack Obama Tuesday afternoon.
"Only Manny and Jinkee were invited inside," the 32-year-old Pacquiao's agent, Michael Koncz, told me. "Manny was thrilled that President Obama took time away from his busy schedule, with all the important world and national events and issues he's facing, to talk to him."
Koncz estimated the total time of the meet and greet which took place in the Oval Office "at about 15 minutes" Koncz said that First Lady Michelle Obama was not present.
"You could see the excitement in Manny's face when he came out of there," Koncz said.
The presidential meeting was set up by Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, who earlier in the day praised the Fighting Congressman from Sarangani on the floor of the Senate and then held a brief news conference with the boxer who campaigned for him in November when Reid held off Tea Party challenger Sharron Angle to retain his powerful position.
What did President Obama and Pacman talk about?
"Well," Koncz said, "they talked mainly about basketball and boxing. The president said he would watch the (Sugar Shane) Mosley fight on pay-per-view TV and said he will be be cheering for Manny.
"Manny was just very excited by the whole situation. I'd say that Jinkee was more nervous. Jinkee was just overwhelmed by all this."
Koncz said the Pacquiao traveling party, including lifelong liberal Democrat and one-time Robert F. Kennedy assistant US attorney turned fight promoter Bob Arum, was heading out for dinner in the nation's capital.
Pacman is heading for Los Angeles before jetting back home to Manila while Arum will return to Las Vegas where he lives and will present a fight card featuring Pinoy star Nonito Donaire against Fernando Montiel of Mexico Saturday night at Mandalay Bay, which will be televised on HBO.
(boxingscene.com)
Manny Pacquiao vs Shane Mosley: LA Press Conf Quotes
More than 300 members of the mainstream sports and boxing media converged into a jam-packed standing-room only ballroom at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Thursday for the kickoff press conference featuring global superstar and Philippine Congressman Manny Pacquiao and three-division world champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley.Showtime Networks Inc. and CBS have joined forces with Top Rank, Inc. to promote, produce and distribute the biggest boxing event of the year—the May 7th showdown between Pacquiao and Mosley to be held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The fire marshals were even on hand making sure the overflow crowd didn’t reach maximum standards at the legendary Los Angeles hotel.
“We look forward to one of the great promotions and one of the great fights of all time,” said Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter and Top Rank CEO. “We’re so pleased to announce that this fight and this event will be distributed by our friends at SHOWTIME Pay-Per-View.”
It was an electric and festive press conference attended by such notables as Les Moonves, President and CEO of CBS Corporation, the youngest of Nelson Mandela’s three daughters, Zindzi Mandela, and Pacquiao’s wife, Jinkee.
“As everyone knows we’ve been in the land of Cowboys for our last two fights,” said Arum. “But I live in Las Vegas and I thought it was time to come back to the place which is the capital of boxing. I think boxing needs Las Vegas and Las Vegas needs boxing.
“This is like boxing’s version of the Super Bowl.”
Here’s what the principals had to say on Thursday:
MATT BLANK, Chairman and CEO of SHOWTIME Networks Inc:
“We are incredibly pleased to be in business with Bob Arum and Top Rank, the premier promoter in boxing today. This is going to be a tremendous event and hugely successful for the fighters, the promoters, the distributors, fight fans and the sport of boxing and we are delighted to be a part of it.
“It is a tremendous privilege to be a part of what surely will be the biggest boxing event of the year and involves one of the world’s greatest athletes in all of sports.”
KEN HERSHMAN, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports®
“This is a long time coming. It’s now our job to take boxing to the next level and bring it back to the masses and I think we’re on the right track. This is a marriage that makes sense and I think it’s going to be a very productive and long lasting one for all of us.
“We’re going to go deeper and broader then we ever have before. We’re going to launch our FIGHT CAMP 360° series around this show. We’re going to be airing that show both on CBS and SHOWTIME and I think it’s going to be really compelling television.
“The other thing that this fight has going for it is it benefits from one of the most ambitious SHOWTIME sports schedules in history. We have, kicking off Saturday night in New Jersey, our Grand Prix Heavyweight MMA Tournament, we have our bantamweight tournament finale, our Super Six semifinals coming up…so it’s just a perfect confluence of events and time for SHOWTIME Sports and we couldn’t be happier.”
BOB HALLORAN, MGM Grand Sports Entertainment Director:
“We’re not happy you’re (Pacquiao) back, we’re ecstatic. We know that when you get the best promoter you ultimately get the best fighter and that’s what we have in Congressman Pacquiao and Shane Mosley. Globally, the most popular fighter in the world today is Manny. We got the best.
“Every time this guy fights we open the ticket office and then they all go home in an hour. We’ve got about 580 tickets left for this fight and we’ll have about 30,000 closed circuit tickets available at our different properties around Las Vegas.
“You may not have this many cameras at the Grammy’s on Sunday night. They’ll be lucky if they have this many.”
MANNY PACQUIAO:
“I’m excited to be fighting on May 7 because it’s covered by SHOWTIME and CBS. It’s going to give more boxing fans a chance to see the fight.
“I am going to train hard because I don’t want to disappoint the people who are going to watch this fight.
“Sugar Shane is a good fighter and he’s a champion so I will never underestimate him.
“Yes, I like all the media attention. We are trying to make this the fight of the year and that’s why we will train so hard.”
SHANE MOSLEY:
“Manny’s a great guy and when I look at him I look at him as a true competitor. I look at him as someone who really wants to win. He loves the sport of boxing and he loves to fight.”
How do you beat a Manny Pacquiao?
“I think it’s very hard but styles make the fight. Being that he’s a very exciting fighter and likes to bring it, that leaves openings for me. We’ll see when we get to the fight. It’s not the African-American style that will beat him. It’s my style that will beat him. Everybody fights differently and styles make the fight and in this fight you have two guys engaging and I think I have what it takes to get the job done.
“I don’t know what the odds are for this fight. I’m not a betting man. I definitely won’t be on the losing end. I think it should be even. We are two similar types of fighters. We both like to battle. He throws punches more rapidly than I do but my punches are heavier. I don’t know what the over-under is. It won’t go the distance. This is the type of fight that would never go the distance.
“My relationship with Manny Pacquiao is great. I have nothing against Manny Pacquiao.
“I’m definitely excited to be fighting on SHOWTIME. It’s going to be something special, especially having the FIGHT CAMP 360° on CBS. This will be one of the biggest fights of my career, if not the biggest.”
FREDDIE ROACH, Pacquiao’s trainer:
“We look forward to this. We have an opponent with a different style and we’ve come up with a game plan and a lot of people are telling me this is an easy fight and that’s the worst thing in the world to say. It’s definitely not an easy fight. Shane has been there many times. He’s going to rise to the occasion. He’s fighting Manny Pacquiao. He will fight the best fight of his life out there and we will not underestimate him. Shane, we will not do that. I promise you.”
The Pacquiao-Mosley U.S. media tour will continue on to Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and New York in The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers – Pier 61 with news conferences that will be open to the public on Saturday, Feb. 12 and Monday, Feb. 14, respectively.
The fight is being promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions, Sugar Shane Mosley Promotions, Tecate and MGM Grand, Pacquiao vs. Mosley will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV®
Manny Paquiao
Emmanuel Dapidran born December 17, 1978, also known as Manny Pacquiao, is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is an eight-division world champion, the first boxer in history to win ten world titles in eight different weight divisions. He is also the first boxer in history to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 2000's by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). He is also a three-time The Ring "Fighter of the Year", winning the award in 2006, 2008, and 2009.
Currently, Pacquiao is the WBC Super Welterweight World Champion and WBO Welterweight World Champion (Super Champion). He is also currently rated as the "number one" pound-for-pound best boxer in the world by several sporting news and boxing websites, including The Ring, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, NBC Sports, Yahoo! Sports, Sporting Life and About.com.
Aside from boxing, Pacquiao has participated in acting, music recording, and politics. In May 2010, Pacquiao was elected to the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress of the Philippines, representing the province of Sarangani. He is the only active boxer to become a congressman in the Philippines.
Personal life
Pacquiao was born on December 17, 1978, in Kibawe, Bukidnon, Philippines. He is the son of Rosalio Pacquiao and Dionesia Dapidran-Pacquiao. His parents separated when he was in sixth grade, after his mother discovered that his father was living with another woman. He is the fourth among six siblings: Liza Silvestre-Onding and Domingo Silvestre (from first husband of his mother) and Isidra Pacquiao-Paglinawan, Alberto "Bobby" Pacquiao and Rogelio Pacquiao.Pacquiao is married to Maria Geraldine "Jinkee" Jamora, and they have four children: Emmanuel Jr. "Jimuel", Michael, Princess, and Queen Elizabeth "Queenie". He resides in his hometown General Santos City, South Cotabato, Philippines. However, as a congressman of lone district of Sarangani, he is officially residing in Kiamba, Sarangani, the hometown of his wife.
Pacquiao is a devout Roman Catholic. Within the ring, he frequently makes the sign of the cross and every time he comes back from a successful fight abroad, he attends a thanksgiving Mass in Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila to kneel and pray.
Pacquiao is also a military reservist with the rank of Sergeant Major for the 15th Ready Reserve Division of the Philippine Army. When younger he had considered becoming a soldier, and was enlisted in the military reserve force as an Army Private.
Education
Pacquiao completed his elementary education at Saavedra Saway Elementary School in General Santos City, but dropped out of high school due to extreme poverty. He left his home at age 14 because his mother, who had six children, was not making enough money to support her family.In February 2007 he took, and passed, a high school equivalency exam making him eligible for college education. He was awarded with a high school diploma by the Department of Education. Pacquiao enrolled for a college degree in business management at Notre Dame of Dadiangas University (NDDU) in his hometown in General Santos City.
On February 18, 2009, Pacquiao was conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humanities (Honoris Causa) by Southwestern University (SWU) at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Lahug, Cebu City in recognition of his boxing achievements and humanitarian work.
In preparation for his career as a lawmaker in the House of Representatives, Pacquiao enrolled in the Certificate Course in Development, Legislation, and Governance at the Development Academy of the Philippines – Graduate School of Public and Development Management (DAP-GSPDM).
Shane Mosley
Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971) is a professional boxer from Pomona, California. He has won world titles in three weight divisions, and is the former WBA Welterweight Super Champion.
Personal life
His ex-wife Jin Mosley is a Korean American who was born and raised in New York.Therefore, he would always attach the Taegukgi, which is the flag of South Korea to his trunks when he fought. They have three children together, Najee Jamarr, Taiseki Justin and Mee-Yon Jinae. Shane also has one other child Shane Jr., who is following in his father's footsteps and training to be a boxer as well. It was announced on HBO, minutes before his fight with Margarito, that he and Jin had separated. Later, it was revealed that she had filed for divorce.In 2010, Mosley teamed up with PETA to protest dog fighting and to protest the seal fur trade in Canada.
Undefeated Lightweight Champion
Amateur career
Mosley was an amateur standout, capturing various amateur titles, including:- 1989 United States Amateur Champion at Lightweight 132 lb (60 kg)
- 1989 World Junior Championships Silver Medalist in San Juan (PUR) 132 lb (60 kg)
- 1990 United States Amateur Champion at Lightweight 132 lb (60 kg)
- 1990 Goodwill Games Bronze Medalist in Seattle (USA) 132 lb (60 kg)
- 1992 United States Amateur Champion at Light Welterweight 139 lb (63 kg) he also had an amateur record of 96-3
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