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FRESH from a two-round demolition of Briton Ricky Hatton on Sunday, Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao was cited by Time Magazine as among its 100 most influential people in the world.
Time?s May 11 issue will feature Pacquiao, who placed 22nd, among its ?Heroes and Icons? category of people who inspire, alongside American First Lady Michelle Obama, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, golfing sensation Tiger Woods and Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal.
Former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis saw Pacquiao as ?becoming the Philippine President one day? in a three-paragraph feature on Pacquiao that he wrote for the issue.
Although he cited Pacquiao?s failed bid to become a lawmaker in 2007, Lewis likened the Mindanao-born boxer?s grip over the Philippines to Nelson Mandela?s influence in South Africa.
?In fact, he already ran for Congress in the Philippines but lost, in part because voters thought he could do more for the country as an inspirational champion boxer. I agree with the Filipino people,? Lewis said in the article.
Pacquiao, a native of General Santos City, ran and lost to South Cotabato Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio (1st district) in the 2007 elections. Pacquiao, in a recent CNN interview, had announced that he would run for public office next year.
Pacquiao?s representatives have since petitioned the Commission on Election to accredit his new political movement, ?The People?s Champ Movement.?
News commentaries and features on the run up to the May 2 (May 3 in Manila) Las Vegas fight often referred to Lewis? comment about Pacquiao?s presidential future without crediting the magazine.
Both the CNN and BBC networks commented in several May 1 reports that Pacquiao had united the Philippines. The British news program also cited the fact that the fight ?had emptied parliament (Congress).?
Several Philippine representatives admitted scheduling trips to Las Vegas to watch the fight.
?Pound for pound, Manny Pacquiao is the best boxer in the world. But even more important than holding that distinction, Manny had connected with the people of his home country, the Philippines, to the point where he?s almost like a god," Lewis said.
Pacquiao is featured on a spread, which features Winfrey and losing United States vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
He is among 11 most influential Asians who include Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, Chinese Internet wiz Jack Ma, Chinese musician Lang Lang, Japanese physicist and Nobel prize winner Yoichiro Nambu, Pakistani Army chief of Staff Ashfaq Kayani, Indian CEO Nandan Nilekani, Indian composer A.R. Rahman and Cambodian activist Somaly Mam.
The Time 100 list includes the world?s top political leaders and revolutionaries, builders and titans, artists and entertainers, and scientists and thinkers. /Inquirer
