MAY 4, 2015

NR # 3821C

Speaker proud of Pacquiao for very good fight

Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte, Jr. today said he was very proud of Rep. Manny D. Pacquiao
(Lone District, Sarangani) and that Filipinos should continue to love and respect the boxing icon for once
again proving he is such a good fighter during the mega-fight against American boxer Floyd Mayweather,
Jr.
The Speaker said he was proud of Pacquiao for his very good performance during the fight.
Manny, we are very proud of you. All of us congressmen here, especially myself, all the Filipinos here,
we are very proud of you. Kung sa ibang lugar nangyari yan di sa US ikaw ang nanalo, kitang-kita
namin na talagang its all points pero you should have outpointed him, the Speaker said addressing his
colleague.
The Speaker acknowledged that the Fight of the Century bout was a hard one, but Pacquiao did
well.
To the Filipino people, we should continue to love Manny and to respect him because he is really
a very good fighter. It was a very hard fight. He did very well. I believe he won more rounds but still the
only way to beat a guy with a record like that is really to knock him (Mayweather) out, the Speaker said.
He said the mega-fight was one of the best fights of Pacquiao, but the strategy was to leave it to
the judges decision.
It was a good fight -- one of the best fights of Manny. But when it was left to the judges
decision, dehado siya doon. Neither side was able to knock down the other, and siyempre had Manny
knocked him down, then there would have been no doubt whatsoever. But here, it was left to the judges,
and it was a close decision but really that was the strategy -- that was the strategy from the start -- to
leave it to the judges. I thought Manny won more rounds for sure, the Speaker said.
Despite the loss, the Speaker said Pacquiao should not entertain retirement for now because he is
still young. We should think twice about that because Manny is still young. The other guy is 40 years
old already, he said.
The Speaker watched the mega-fight at the Amoranto Stadium in Quezon City along with
thousands of his district constituents.
I was really hoping that the boxing result wont be left to the judges. It was so close, but Manny
lost in that judging, said Belmonte.
Once again, the Speaker said Pacquiao showed his sportsmanship and fighting spirit, which is one
of his good qualities. Nakita mo, nakatawa pa pagkatapos nung fight, because he has fighting spirit,
Belmonte said.
The Speaker said he is amenable to giving recognition to Pacquiao once he returns home. I am
all for it because we saw it from the beginning, it was a damn good fight. And many people, including
Manny, and including myself, felt he had won. We will recognize him as soon as he arrives in Congress,
he said. (30) rbb