MANILA, Philippines – An official of the Philippines' amateur boxing body said Sunday, April 10, they will wait for the right time to talk to Manny Pacquiao and convince him to compete in the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
"When the opportunity presents itself," said Ed Picson, executive director of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines in a text message to Rappler, after Pacquiao defeated Timothy Bradley Jr in a an IBO welterweight bout in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Picson told Rappler recently that Wu Ching-kuo, head of the international amateur boxing body, told him he is inviting Pacquiao to compete in the Olympics. Wu had made the request for Pacquiao a few times, government sports radio station dzSR said.
It is not clear if Pacquiao will have to join the final Olympic qualifier in June or be seeded outright into the weight division the 8-division world champion chooses. Picson said he wants to talk to Pacquiao first and proceed from there.
So far, Charly Suarez and Rogen Ladon are the only Filipino boxers who have qualified for the Rio Olympics.
Boxing has given the Philippines two silver medals: the first from the late Anthony Villanueva during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and Mansueto Velasco Jr, better known as Onyok Velasco, in the 1996 Atlanta Games. – Rappler.com