As Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao appears in more and more television shows, gets included in more and more lists, and graces more and more magazine covers, it becomes more and more clear that he has been transitioning from a "niche sport" star to a mainstream appeal, especially in America.
Just recently, he appeared on ABC's late night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Show. The multi-tasking Filipino, who does all sort of things back in the Philippines (he is active in singing, acting, and even political matters to a degree), even performed a number on the show. He crooned the ballad "Sometimes When We Touch" to a contingent of adoring Filipinos, as well as other members of the crowd.
The whole world has started to take notice of this boxing figure, and no less than the well-respected Time Magazine is fascinated.
Other Boxers Who Have Appeared in the Magazine's Cover
The cover of Time magazine is usually reserved for influential international political figures, nobel prize winners, and the like. Celebrated athletes have sometimes been featured in the past, such as popular performers across the sports world, such as golf's Tiger Woods, basketball's Michael Jordan, track and field's Michael Johnson, baseball's Pete Rose, tennis' Williams sisters, and most recently, swimming's Michael Phelps.
Boxers have made the magazine's cover in the past, beginning from boxing's first superstar Jack Dempsey. Joe Louis, the first African-American to be accepted as a superstar in the U.S., was also featured in the historical front page. The popular and polarizing Muhammad Ali appeared thrice (one time with Joe Frazier). The last pugilist to have been engrossed in TIme is Mike Tyson, who appeared in photo, rather than a painting, like the other boxers before him experienced, and that was in 1988, a good, long time ago. Past world heavyweight champions Gene Tunney, Primo Carnera, the aforementioned Frazier, and 5-time middleweight champion "Sugar" Ray Robinson roud off the list of the fighters who appeared in the international publication.
Pacquiao is the first fighter in twenty years to appear in the cover, the second non-heavyweight champion, the second Filipino (after the late Corazon Aquino, for willing fellow Filipinos to overthrow the domineering government of their time), and the first Asian athlete ever.
As the sport boxing has been fading away into perceived mainstream oblivion, the recognition of Pacquiao to star in the cover breathes fresh air into the sport as well as to the mainstream world.
Plenty of Reasons Why Pacquiao is Featured
Magazines like Time often feature remarkable people with remarkable stories. The publication has told inspirational stories of greatness for generations of reader. Three-time heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali was as much an icon in his character in the ring as well as out of it, and there is no secret why such a man is sought after for magazine stories like this, especially in a time when boxing is at a peak in popularity.
Even in a sport filled of rags-to-riches tales, Pacquiao's story still stands out. As a young kid in General Santos city, Philippines, he was forced by poverty to quit school, sell stolen cigarettes, purchase bread to sell for a higher price, and work many odd jobs for meager incomes just enough to help his family eat one, two, or three meals a day. And those were just the good days. Pacquiao stowed away from home when his father ate his beloved dog, started boxing with a premature body, and just for minimal money.
Now, Pacquiao is a hero in his country and an inspiration to millions across the world.
In boxing, he is currently the best, pound-for-pound, and probably its biggest star. He is continuing his journey into epic dominance, as he attempts to win a title in his seventh weight class, something nobody has ever done before.
Surely, all of those, and then some, are more than enough reasons to make Pacquiao's story in the magazine, and some of those, would be written and told.
The piece is titled "The Great Hope" on the front page.
Pacquiao's Other Popular Achievements Outside the Ring
Outside the ring, the most well-known person in the Philippines has also made his mark. Before this next magazine spread, he made the cover of Reader's Digest Asia, prior to his December 2008 match with then-boxing's most well-known fighter, Oscar De la Hoya. His name has also been included in numerous significant lists, such as landing in the number 6 and number 22 of Forbes' Richest Athletes, and Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People, respectively.
Along with appearing on a nationally televised talk show, all those recognition that Pacquiao has received add to the fact that "Pac-Man" has become a household name in America, as well as other parts of the world, and he is standing well among other superstars who have transcended their respective sports. Certainly, the patriot Pacquiao is proud, and so should his countrymen, of the honor and recognition he is bestowing towards his mother land.
Because of these things, Pacquiao has helped boxing gain a rise in popularity recently, on the heels of an economic recession.
If he is not yet generally accepted as a star, a win in his Novermber 14 fight with another elite fighter, Miguel Cotto, would elevate his status again, in and out of the ring.
Here's what Pacquiao had to say:
"I absolutely had no idea that when I started my career in boxing, to provide a better life for myself and my family, that I would now be where I am today and on the cover of TIME Magazine," said Pacquiao. "A fighter's dream is to win a world title and gain financial stability. But what is happening to me now is the most humbling experience of my life. It is a great honor for me to be the face of my people and to let everyone know we are a small but mighty country. I have great pride for all of the Filipinos living throughout the world and it is these people that I fight for each and every time I step into the ring."
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