It was a homecoming fit for the People’s Champ as GMA Network joined the nation in welcoming Manny Pacquiao on April 14.
Fresh from his victory in the boxing ring against Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley in the US on April 9 (April 10 in Manila), the boxing legend was congratulated by GMA Network Chairman and CEO Felipe L. Gozon, President and COO Gilberto R. Duavit, Jr. (second from right) and Executive Vice President and CFO Felipe S. Yalong along with other Network officers and distinguished guests.
The boxer sat down and had a breakfast of champions of sorts, followed by a welcome parade from Makati to Quezon City.
Pacquiao fans across the country were still as enthusiastic as ever the Filipino boxer faced American boxer Timothy Bradley for the third time.
Pacquiao, by unanimous decision, won and it could be the last winning bout as he plans to retire now.
The bout, aired on free TV exclusively on GMA-7’s PacBrad III, posted a 40.3 percent household rating in National Urban Television Audience Measurement (NUTAM) based on overnight data from Nielsen TV Audience Measurement, the industry’s trusted ratings service provider.
It prevailed over all counterpart programs shown on competing channels across all areas.
The Pacquiao-Bradley III main event rated 14.1 points higher than the GMA airing of the Pacquiao-Mayweather bout dubbed Battle for Greatness, which recorded 26.2 percent in NUTAM.
