Pacquiao ready for bigger fight

Manny Pacquiao is not one to run from a fight, be it in the ring or at the polls.

Though his boxing career is beginning to wind down, the 30-year-old Pacquiao is looking ahead to bigger fights beyond Saturday's showdown with Miguel Cotto at the MGM Grand Garden.

Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 knockouts) is preparing for a career in politics, an arena that can be a lot rougher than any boxing ring. But he's not going to wait until he retires. Pacquiao plans to make a run for Congress in his native Philippines in 2010.

"The reason I am running for Congress is that General Santos City needs representation that will bring more business and revenue to its people, my people," Pacquiao said of his hometown. "For too long, the problems of General Santos City have been ignored. Because I am fortunate enough to be famous, perhaps as a congressman I can attract bigger businesses to our area, which in turn will generate more revenue."

As Pacquiao trains for Cotto, he knows there are a couple of bigger paydays out there for him should he win, specifically a megafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr., before he leaves boxing for good.

Yet Pacquiao is not going to wait for retirement to begin his political life in his homeland, a country with 92 million people and almost as many problems to solve -- problems such as a struggling economy, high unemployment and terrorism from Muslim extremists.

"I have a loud voice, and I wish to use it for those who have not been heard," Pacquiao said. "There are important issues that need to be addressed, and I want to shine the brightest light possible on them."

Could Pacquiao mix politics while he's still an active boxer?

"Manny thinks he can do both," said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, who is Pacquiao's promoter. "He believes his people need his help now."

Pacquiao is so popular in the Philippines, it is often said he could be president. But could he actually one day be President Pacquiao?

"Absolutely," Arum said. "Manny is so popular over in the Philippines, you have no idea. But first, he must run for Congress."

Pacquiao has had a taste of how bitter Filipino politics can be. In 2007, he made a run at Darlene Antonino-Custodio's congressional seat in his home district.

He lost. The margin of defeat has been reported as about 60,000 votes. Other reports have the margin at 37,000. But many Pacquiao supporters claim the election was rigged against him.

There is also a theory that people didn't vote for him because they were afraid a victory at the polls would have meant a farewell from boxing and they didn't want to see their hero leave the ring so soon.

As is his nature, Pacquiao took the high road, making no excuses. He said he would work harder to earn the people's trust and believes he still can do more good as a politician than as a boxer.

"It's an honor to represent my people when I fight inside and outside the ring," Pacquiao said.

Corruption is no stranger to politics in the Philippines. However, if Pacquiao were to run on a party list, which is a nationwide contest rather than go the district route, Arum said Pacquiao may have a better chance of avoiding being involved in a rigged election.

"There's two ways to win a seat in (the Filipino) Congress," Arum said. "You can run in a congressional district and you buy everyone off. Or you go on a party list which is nationwide and there's no corruption. A lot of people want Manny to go that route."

The elections are May 10, which means a possible Mayweather fight may have to wait until the summer, unless the fight was made for March. That would still leave Pacquiao enough time to campaign back home.

His popularity is at an all-time high. He was put on the cover of Time Magazine's Asia edition last week and was the subject of a full-length five-page feature titled "The Great Hope," which was scheduled to run in all of Time's editions worldwide.

Pacquiao became the 11th boxer to grace the news magazine's cover, joining Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, among others.

Pacquiao's Time cover speaks as much to his humanitarian side as it does his athletic side. When a recent series of typhoons ravaged the Philippines, Pacquiao was on the front lines, handing out supplies, raising money for relief efforts and doing whatever he could to ease the burden of his countrymen.

"It was very difficult for me, but I have to focus on my fight because nobody can help me in the ring," Pacquiao said. "I am not only fighting for me but I am also fighting for my country."

Arum said Pacquiao's genuine concern for his people is what will make him a successful politician.

"Manny is not controversial, but everything he does is pro-humanity and he is loved by the people in the Philippines because of that," Arum said. "I have never seen anything like the adulation that he is given by Filipinos in the Philippines and all over the world. That is something that even Ali never even really had -- that type of frenzy."

Arum said that is why Pacquiao will be successful in politics.

"Nobody has his heart and compassion for his people like Manny Pacquiao does," Arum said. "I predict he will do great things for his country in politics the same way he has in boxing."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.