Pacquiao vs. Bradley 3 Fight News: Philippine Politician Wants To Postpone Rubber Match
A Philippine politician is currently appealing for the postponement of the April 9th rubber match between eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao and former WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley.
The said fight, which is Pacquiao's 66th and final professional boxing fight, will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the same venue where their first two fights in June 2012 and April 2014 took place.
Pacquiao's decision to finally walk away from the sport of boxing after two decades of active competition is mainly anchored on his political aspirations in his home country of the Philippines. Currently a Congressman of the Sarangani Province in the southern region of the country, "Pacman" is also running for a senatorial seat at the 2016 Philippine elections, which will take place in May.
Pacquiao, however, is currently in hot water after he made some controversial statements opposing same-sex marriage, comparing humans to animals and saying the latter was better because they were "able to distinguish male from female".
While the Filipino boxing icon is facing one issue, another one is being raised by one of his political rivals. In a report by ESPN, former Rep. Walden Bello is appealing for the Commission on Elections in the Philippines to have the third Bradley fight postponed. Bello is also running for Senator in the upcoming Philippine elections.
According to Bello, the fight gives Pacquiao massive publicity, making him violate a law about giving candidates equal access to media publicity. He adds that should Pacquiao refuse to comply, disqualification from the Senatorial race would be the "logical outcome."
"He has all the rights to exercise his boxing profession after the elections, but to schedule his boxing bout during the campaign period and close to the elections is obviously taking advantage of his personality and his profession, extending undue benefit to his candidacy," an excerpt of Bello's petition reads.
As a politician, Pacquiao is also criticized for having attended a mere total of four Congress sessions in 2014.
