Word: timing
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...Joshua Clottey in 12 low-thrill rounds to retain his World Boxing Organization welterweight crown. The disarray at party headquarters suggests that his next fight - campaigning for a congressional seat in the nearby province of Sarangani in the May 10 elections - won't be so easy. His opponent this time is Roy Chiongbian, a U.S.-educated businessman from a wealthy and well-entrenched political dynasty. "Pacquiao is up for a very tough fight," says Prospero de Vera, professor of public administration at the University of the Philippines. "Sarangani is relatively poor and local politics is very traditional. The Chiongbians have...
Chiongbian is withering about his famous opponent's chances this time around. "Although he is popular as a sportsman, it's very different being a politician," says Chiongbian, who soft-launched his campaign by celebrating his 61st birthday at his family's 2,718-acre (1,100 hectare) plantation near Kiamba. "Tiger Woods is the No. 1 golfer, but he can't be, let's say, a race-car driver. We have our limitations and our skills." He believes Pacquiao's popularity plays against him: many voters don't want their national hero dirtying his hands in politics. "People like...
Still, "Sir Manny" - as his staff reverentially call him - is a more formidable opponent than Chiongbian will ever admit. Pacquiao is approaching round two of his political career with at least some of the searing focus he usually reserves for the boxing ring. "Last time, I wasn't prepared," he tells TIME, as he tours his would-be constituency. "I was very confident [because] I was famous. This time I'm ready." And confident. Asked if he's going to win, he flashes his delinquent smile. "Landslide," he says...
That might be pushing it, but Pacquiao promises a slicker campaign this time. "I've already established my [political] machinery," he says. "It's like a car. It's fixed already. You just have to get in and drive it." He has the support of tycoon Senator Manny Villar, a presidential candidate, who joined him on his Sarangani homecoming. On the campaign trail, Pacquiao has fewer bodyguards separating him from adoring fans and voters. Warming up crowds on the campaign trail are his wife Jinkee and mother Dionisia, a.k.a. "Pac-Mom," both household names in the Philippines who were largely...
...only advice Pacquiao has ignored. His first love is boxing, but cockfighting and high-stakes gambling - preferably both at the same time - come a close second. Singson warns that gambling will drain Pacquiao's fortune and besmirch his populist image. "I told him, 'People look at you as their idol. It's bad if they see you gambling.' So now he's stopped [going to] casinos already." Really? Less than two days after his homecoming, the boxer could be spotted playing Texas Hold'em at a windowless poker joint in Manila in the small hours. Peering protectively through nearby...