God Leads Pacquiao To Victory

by ALEX P. VIDAL

Aside from his mental and physical preparations, Manny Pacquiao saw to it that he didn’t neglect his spiritual duties and preparations especially when he engaged in the most difficult phase of his fistic career on December 6 (Dec. 7 in the Philippines) at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada.

This assessment was made on December 3 by Pacquiao’s wedding godfather and spiritual adviser Andriano “Rey” Golingan who traveled all the way from Gen. Santos City, Philippines via Los Angeles, California to Las Vegas to do his part in the Team Pacquiao: joined Manny Pacquiao in his regular prayers. Golingan’s assessment came true.

“I predict that he is going to win (against De La Hoya) because God will lead him all the way to victory,” Golingan said before the fight night. “The basis of my prediction is his faith in God. At any given time during the fight, God will surely lead him to victory,” he added. God led Pacquiao to victory, yes.

He said, “Pacquiao is religious by nature.” Golingan and his partner, an engineer who refused to be identified, said it is Pacquiao himself who leads the prayers “and we only guide and follow him.”

“Some of his friends whom he respects help him in his spiritual preparations because we cannot help him in his mental and physical preparations”, said Golingan’s friend.

Golingan and his friend said they join Pacquiao and his pregnant wife Jinkee together with selected family members in regular prayers at night usually before dinner time.

“In Los Angeles (inside his The Palazzo apartment in La Brea), we usually prayed before dinner. But when we arrived here last month, we started the prayer after dinner,” added Golingan’s friend.

Golingan, who owns a boxing gym in Gen. Santos City, guided Pacquiao when the best boxer pound-for-pound was still amateur.

He never missed Pacquiao’s fights in the United States and once held the boxer’s championship belt in the ring when Pacquiao fought Jorge Solis for WBC international super featherweight title in San Antonio, Texas on April 14, 2007.

Golingan, a close ally of the late Sen. Raul Roco, also backed Pacquiao when the popular ringster ran and lost in his congressional bid in North Cotabato in 2007.

Oscar’s Ax To Grind; Manny’s Obligation
To Filipino People

“Vengeance is not ours, it is God’s. Hell hath no fury like a promotional management scorned.

As repeatedly emphasized by Golden Boy Promotion CEO Richard Schaefer, Oscar De La Hoya wanted to punish Manny Pacquiao on December 6 (Dec. 7 in the Philippines) “because he was very disappointed in Manny.”

De La Hoya (39-5, 30 KOs), according to Schaefer, is still fuming mad because he thought Pacquiao had given them a ride when the Filipino ring jewel did not sign up with De La Hoya’s promotional outfit, which, incidentally, is Top Rank’s co-promoter of the 12-round “Dream Match”.
Schaefer went on that “De La Hoya wanted Pacquiao to pay” saying the 29-year-old lefty “has the ability to attract chaos.”

Unknown to Schaefer and probably De La Hoya, Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KOs) has always told the Philippine press he has no hard feelings towards De La Hoya and those who didn’t give him a china man’s chance to score a big upset in boxing history when he went up against the 35-year-old 10-time world champion at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada last Saturday.

Pacquiao even reminded the press which has been following his training in the Wild Card gym in Hollywood, that more than his biggest fight against De La Hoya, he has an obligation to 91 million Filipino people rooting for him in the Philippines and abroad.

“I want to make the people happy that’s why I always give my best every time I have a fight,” Pacquiao mused. “Only God knows who will win (between him and De La Hoya) but I will not disappoint the nation.” (Pacquiao prevailed after 8 rounds of boxing.)

Pacquiao’s most potent weapon, he admitted, is “serious training.”
”When I train, I focused my mind. I’m always positive,” said the five feet, six inches best boxer in the world pound-for-pound. Pacquiao also prays a lot—in the morning when he wakes up and in the evening after dinner.
In his suite at the Mandalay Bay and Resort where he and his team are billeted, he prayed the rosary together with wife Jinkee and selected members of the family.

Oddsmakers, meanwhile, continued to install De La Hoya a solid pick to beat the Filipino national hero on account of his reach and height advantage. He has 73 inches in reach as against Pacquiao’s 68. However, Pacquiao proved them all wrong. After they rumbled in the 147 lbs., a welterweight division, where De La Hoya once reigned as world champion, he surrendered on the 9th round. /MP