MANILA, Philippines – Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao will wear a standard mouthpiece to avoid election issues in his upcoming fight against Timothy Bradley Jr. on April 9 (April 10 in PH).
Los Angeles-based dentist Dr Ed Dela Vega posted Pacquiao’s actual mouthguard on Twitter, which draws shades of the Philippine tri-color with the MP logo in the middle.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/PhilippineStar">@PhilippineStar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/gmanews">@GMANews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ABSCBNNews">@ABSCBNNews</a> Here you go folks, the real one i will give to MP! <a href="https://t.co/hEzPuAUfdN">pic.twitter.com/hEzPuAUfdN</a></p>— Ed de la Vega,DDS (@Mouthgrds4Champ) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mouthgrds4Champ/status/710976546530459649">March 18, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Dela Vega released the photo on the aforementioned social networking site after he shared a mouthpiece that has an emblem of the opposition party United Nationalist Alliance, among which Pacquiao is included as one of its 12 senatorial bets in the May 9 general election.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Guess who gets to use this on April 9th? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PacBradley3?src=hash">#PacBradley3</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/nickspeaks">@nickspeaks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/abaccordero">@abaccordero</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ronnathanielsz">@ronnathanielsz</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/vegasbob1975">@vegasbob1975</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/boxing?src=hash">#boxing</a> <a href="https://t.co/4S1oQZgSnH">pic.twitter.com/4S1oQZgSnH</a></p>— Ed de la Vega,DDS (@Mouthgrds4Champ) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mouthgrds4Champ/status/710595379964686336">March 17, 2016</a></blockquote>
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To silence potential political uproar, Dela Vega clarified that Pacquiao never intended to use the UNA-featured mouthguard in his third ring encounter versus Bradley, which takes place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“There was never an intent to let him use it. People just assumed that! I gave him another one to use,” he wrote.
The 37-year-old pugilist is currently in hot water for his curtain-call bout next month as his critics question Pacquiao for unfair political advertising, pursuant to the Fair Elections Act.
Former party-list lawmaker Walden Bello filed a petition this past February, urging the Commission on Elections to decide if Pacquiao's match with Bradley will violate election rules.
In a press statement, election lawyer Romulo Macalintal challenged Bello by countering that there are no provisions in the election laws that prohibit a candidate from participating in any sport.
Macalintal also stressed that if there was any offense under Philippine laws, the same cannot be applied against Pacquiao as the fight will be held in the United States. – Rappler.com