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Misery Called Life wrote:Number 1 in billiards, boxing and bowling? Hah ha HA

Revenues are declining that's precisely why the IBO needs to put someone on the pedestal. The IBO now needs to look beyond American fighters. Post Hoya's retirement the baton will be passed to Paquiao. It's simply economics dude....

Bowling:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Nepomuceno

QUOTE (Wikipedia)
Although fighting with fists comes naturally to people, evidence of fist-fighting contests first appear on ancient Sumerian, Egyptian and Minoan reliefs. The ancient Greeks provide us our first historical records of boxing as a formal sport; they codified a set of rules and staged tournaments with professionals. The birth hour of boxing as a sport may be its acceptance as an Olympic game as early as 688 BC. Modern boxing evolved in Europe, particularly Great Britain.
UNQUOTE (Wikipedia)

So yes, Pacquiao deserves to be praised.

As for the "economics" you had mentioned, who else do you think will be in that "pedestal" you had mentioned other than the winner? I think it is more of a common sense than economics.

It's still a sport. And everyone knows there is a huge market in the world of sports.

Hey farthest point, ur totally right.
But I maintain that adulation is a lil overdone. And were there more champion sports persons in your country it would have been a different story.

If Filipinos always loved Boxing so, and had belief in his capabilities, then Manny wouldn't have lost so abysmally in his attempt to win a congressional seat.
The fact is that his fights have been hyped beyond a comprehensible level.
And it has worked. Manny's name now figures in the Times list of most influential persons.
This simple fact is that everyone loves a winner. Filipinas desperately needed a sporting icon....and marketing gurus gave them what they wanted.
He's stated his willingness to contest in 2010, just see how he sweeps the polls.

But nothing takes away from the fact that he is one helluva boxer and as I eagerly await his upcoming matches, I shall keep watching re-runs.
And not to mention his life story is unbelievably inspirational.

Pacquiao is not just an inspiration for people, but has been a saving grace for the Philippines government on more than one occasion,' says Granville Ampong, a highly respected Filipino journalist based in Los Angeles, who writes for several newspaper titles in the Philippines. 'The Philippines is in a state of political chaos, of economic meltdown. There are many controversies around the current administration, and he has saved them from attack from revolutionaries.
Politics and sports MUST not mix.

The Philippines also possesses the highest birth rate in Asia, with forecasters predicting the population of 90 million (it is the world's 12th most populous country) could double within three decades, pushing the fragile economy past breaking point.
It is also the world's biggest rice importer, and has seen prices soar in recent years. The Philippines needs, if not a miracle, then an individual who embodies unity and hope for the future.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/others ... fight.html