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Boxing

03rd Jul 2015

Manny Pacquiao promises 5 million to first Filipino to win Olympic gold

Incredibly sound gesture

Robert Redmond

In case you were living under a rock the past few months, Manny Pacquiao has a few quid to spare.

The Filipino boxer may have lost to Floyd Mayweather JR. in ‘the fight of the century’ back in May, but walked away with around $150 million (€135 million) for 36 minutes work, while Mayweather earned around $230 million (€207 million) for the fight.

If you missed the fight itself, here’s the highlights.

money fight

Mayweather, judging by his social media accounts, is most likely to spend his money on himself, but Pacquaiao is promising to be a lot more generous with his pile of cash.

The boxer has promised to give 5 million Philippine pesos, (just over €100,000) to the first Filipino athlete to win gold at next summer’s Olympics in Rio.

A spectacularly sound gesture from Pacquiao, who said: “The pledge I, next year when you have gold (at the Olympics), five million no matter what sport.”

Pacquaio, who’s a senator in the country, made the announcement at the Philippine Sports Museum, after delivering sports memorabilia, and probably on his way to volunteer at a soup kitchen.

The country has never produced an Olympic gold medallist before, coming closest in 1964 when boxer Anthony Villanueva won silver.

They plenty of motivation to end the dry spell now.

H/T SPIN.

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