There are a couple remarkable things about Manny Pacquiao’s recent remarks on homosexuality. His views in opposition to gay marriage were already well-known; that’s not new, and it’s not cool, nor has it ever been. No, what’s remarkable is the virulent nature of how he’s expressed those views lately, and how unrelenting he has been in doing so.
Pacquiao rightly got dropped by Nike and condemned by his own promoter for saying gay people were worse than animals because animals never fornicate with the opposite sex. That’s just awful, and incorrect on the animal kingdom besides, not that Pacquiao would ever have gotten an “A” in any science class before this past week, either. That he offered up a half-hearted apology wasn’t enough, but we might have moved on from now if Pacquiao hadn’t subsequently defended his remarks and noted that he was grateful about how people are “alarmed by the truth,” then briefly posted a Bible verse that appears to support the execution of gay men.
Look, it’s not surprising that a politician running for higher office in a heavily religious third world country might have anti-gay sentiments. I don’t like it and neither should much of anybody. But opposing gay marriage is a far sight different than saying homosexuals are worse than animals and tacitly endorsing a death sentence for them. Despite the various scuffs on his “good guy” image over he years, Pacquiao still did plenty to maintain his overall status. Now? He’s crossed over to the villain side, and thoroughly. Whatever charitable works he does in his life are going to be overshadowed by this. It’s ugly, and sad.
More Quick Jabs now:
Antonio Tarver has gotten off pretty easy with the state of New Jersey over his second confirmed failed drug test. Six months? That’s it? And credit for “time served?” C’mon. If there’s any comfort in that, it’s that he’s probably due another suspension for not disclosing his child support backlog, and might not have the money to apply for a new license. Combined with the fact that he hasn’t paid taxes for nine years, it’s almost enough to make you feel sorry for the guy, until you remember that he’s a repeat drug cheat who doesn’t take care of his kids…
50 Cent takes pictures of himself playing with money, spelling out in bricks of cash the words “broke,” to mock the notion that he’s gone poor. Bankruptcy court has questions, since Fitty filed for bankruptcy and all. Fitty’s lawyers say he has to maintain an image of wealth for promotional purposes. Sorry, might have to postpone the rest of QJ because I suffered dual eyeball injuries thanks to rolling them too hard…
Nah, we’ll continue. Floyd Mayweather is already back to hinting he might return, while denying he wants to. He mentioned the idea, hypothetically, of bumping Canelo Alvarez-Amir Khan off their fight date by declaring he’d face Danny Garcia. I still bet he returns this year, but not on that May date…
Don’t know if anyone caught the super middleweight rematch between Fedor Chudinov and Felix Sturm, but this wasn’t the usual “Sturm gets gift decision in Germany when he has only the tiniest argument in his favor” thing. Sturm always has had a fighting style where you could sorta see how his fights are hard to judge, and why he’d get the benefit of the doubt on his home soil. But this time, Sturm had zero claim. Boxing is so gross, so often…
Am I the only fan OK with this Miguel Cotto-Juan Manuel Marquez idea? They’re both over the hill at nearly the same rate, and they’re two of the biggest names of their generation. The only thing I don’t like about it is that we’re going to have to listen to them squabble about what exact pound the fight would be at for forever. Right now, though, it looks like Cotto is fighting someone else in June…
We’re sort of at the Round And Round portion of this (i.e. fights in the works) already, so let’s make it official:
Good fights first. Anthony Joshua vs Charles Martin at heavyweight is a very good fight. Joshua might not be quite ready for an opponent like this, but I’m ready to watch and find out. It’s booked for April. Can’t wait.
There’s talk of junior lightweight Francisco Vargas (fresh off his Fight of the Year in 2015) taking on Orlando Salido (he of regular Fight of the Year nominations and/or victories). Holy cow, that’s awesome. We would have to sit on our hands until JUNE for that one?
Errol Spence vs Chris Algieri is said to be in the works. Perfect fight for Spence, the ultra-talented welterweight prospect. Algieri is no slouch — beating him convincingly would show us Spence is real. Pairing it with Krzysztof Glowacki-Steve Cunningham at cruiserweight is more than enough to make figuring out what the hell channel “Premier Boxing Champions” would be airing on that April evening worth it…
Celebrate! Junior lightweight Takashi Uchiyama might fight a live body. Javier Fortuna, in fact. The cult of Uchiyama doesn’t get pissed on enough, but mild kudos for finally fighting an actual contender! If it happens, anyway. And it’s only happening because a member of the alphabet belt gang has gotten around to feinting and making Uchiyama fight anyone of consequence.
Roman Gonzalez is fighting McWilliams Arroyo next, in April, and the flyweight king won’t be in easy or anything. Still, it’s annoying that the best pound-for-pound fighter continues to do anything but face his most obvious opponents and two fellow pound-for-pounders, Juan Francisco Estrada or Naoya Inoue.
You know what’s even lamer? Gennady Golovkin talking about moving to 168 to face Bernard Hopkins. This guy’s cult is out of control. He’s a terrific fighter to watch, and just good period, but man is he an ass about when he’ll move around in weight and when he won’t. Carl Froch, Hopkins and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. at 168? No problem! Andre Ward? No way! Floyd Mayweather at 154? Yes! Alvarez at 155? Nope! Khan at same? Not there either. And before you answer, “It’s all about risk and reward,” sure, it is, but let’s stop pretending this guy is some warrior who’s only interested in the best fights or some kind of middleweight purity, and who can’t get the fights he wants because he’s avoided. The truth of it is, his pickiness is to blame for the bed he’s lying in. He’s an opportunist, plain and simple — and not a very good opportunist, at that.
Round And Round sources: BoxingScene, Guardian
(Photo: GENERAL SANTOS, PHILIPPINES – JANUARY 28: Manny Pacquiao trains at Pedro Acharon Sports Complex on Jan. 28. Pacquiao faces Timothy Bradley in a welterweight bout at the MGM Grand casino on April 9 in Las Vegas; credit: Jeoffrey Maitem/Getty Images)
