Faith became Manny Pacquiao's strength as he punches his way to success as a professional boxer. The Philippines' pride and the only eight-division world champion in boxing history borrowed his power from God as he continues his fight in the ring and life. The fighting senator said that God is the reason why we shouldn't be worried that he still box at the age of 40.
The Filipino fighting machine is scheduled to fight the undefeated young fighter Keith Thurman on July 20. Thurman is a 30-year-old welterweight champion known to have a dominant right hand. Pacquiao is training at the Wild Card Boxing Club with his longtime trainer Freddie Roach. The boxing coach said that he acknowledged many concerns for the upcoming fight. Roach said that the choice of opponent made him uncomfortable because the opponent is a full-blown 147-pounder. The boxing coach estimated that the Filipino champ had a higher chance of winning if he fights Mikey Garcia, made his name at 126 pounds and gradually moved up weight divisions.
Mr. Roach said that he would decline the fight with Errol Spence and Terrence Crawford because he believes that the matches are dangerous at this time. He said that they are all beatable on a good night for Manny, but we can't be sure that he has a good night every time at 40 years old.
Mr. Roach believes that Pacquiao will win the fight against Thurman, but he is concerned about the direction that they will take after Manny's victory. He said that after the match, they are running out of names. Manny and Mr. Roach differ in religious convictions. The boxing champ believes in fate, while the coach thinks that God is not a good matchmaker. Manny trusts God for his success and failures.
The coach, however, thinks that Pacquiao remained a world-class fighter because of his rediscovered religion. The boxing champ abandoned his vices, including womanizing, gambling, drunkenness, after he renewed his faith.
According to Pacquiao's story, his spiritual journey started when God appeared to him when he was at the peak of his career. During the time, he dominated the sports after winning Oscar De La Hoya and 15 other fights including the loss of Shane Mosley and his longtime rival Juan Manuel Marquez. He is also scheduled to fight the American undefeated world champion, Floyd Mayweather. Pacquiao said that he felt "empty inside" during the time, but appeared to him one night in his dreams. He started reading the Bible afterward.
