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Friday, March 29, 2024

Arum: Pacman should not fight in Rio Olympics

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TOP Rank promoter Bob Arum, who has exerted considerable influence over eight-division world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao told The Standard, “Manny owes and obligation to the people, who elected him to the Senate and needs to fulfill that obligation.”

Pacquiao was recently proclaimed a senator of the Philippines with over 16 million votes.

Arum expressed the hope that Pacquiao won’t compete in the Olympics.

“He (Pacquiao) has a lot of work to do,” said Arum, referring to Pacquiao’s job in the Senate, unlike his two-term stint in the House of Representatives, where he was roundly criticized for his habitual non-attendance.

AFP photo

The astute promoter, who helped shape the career of Pacquiao with the help of Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, said he hopes the Filipino ring icon will focus on his significant role as a senator.

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Arum’s position was supported by one of Pacquiao’s business managers in Eric Pineda, who told The Standard he was confident that the newly elected Senator won’t compete in the Rio Olympics, even as the ABAP announced that the deadline set for Pacquiao to make up his mind is May 27.

Pacquiao made it clear his desire is to try and end the Philippines’ quest for a coveted first Olympic gold medal and had nothing to do with money.

So far, the Philippines has two boxers who have qualified for Rio, lightweight Charly Suarez and light flyweight Rogen Ladon.

The country is likely to send at least three boxers to the final Olympic Qualifying tournament in Azerbaijan on June 16, led by hard-hitting welterweight Eumir Marcial and bantamweight Mario Fernandez, along with either Ian Clark Bautista or Roldan Boncales, who put on an impressive performance despite losing in the last qualifying tournament in Qian’An, China.

The 23-year-old flyweight from General Santos City impressed the coaching staff with his victory over Vietnamese national champion Tran Van Thao in his opening bout, using effective combinations to counter the spirited efforts of his Vietnamese opponent.

However, in the next round, Boncales lost to the No. 4 seeded Kazakhstan fighter Oizahas Sattibayev in a close and exciting bout with two judges scoring in 29-28 for the Kazakh fighter and the third judge scoring it 30-27.

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