Senator Manny Pacquiao Donates World Title Belt to the Philippines

MANILA (November 8, 2016) — The streak continues! No sooner had boxing superhero Senator MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO (59-6-2, 38 KOs) won the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight world title for a third time — dethroning the younger and taller defending champion Jessie Vargas (27-2, 10 KOs) on Saturday in front of 16,321 fans at the Thomas & Mack Center — boxing’s only eight-division world champion jetted back to Manila in time to attend the first day of the Philippine Senate’s new session. Pacquiao has not missed one day of Senate activity since being sworn in, despite a grueling schedule that incorporated an intense training camp for his challenge of Vargas.

Upon entering the Senate chamber today, as a world champion, carrying his new world title belt, Senator Pacquiao was lauded by his colleagues. The Senate passed a resolution commending Pacquiao’s discipline to effectively serve the citizens of the Philippines while training for his world championship challenge in his ring return against Vargas, both on a fulltime basis.

Pacquiao, the first senator from any country to win a world title, then presented his new world championship belt to Senate President Koko Pimentel as a gift to the citizens of the Philippines.

“To manifest my heartfelt thanksgiving, I would like to donate my WBO welterweight belt to the Senate of the Philippines. The honor does not belong to me alone but to every Filipino,” said Pacquiao. “May it serve as an inspiration for everyone to pursue excellence and to continue fighting for our nation’s sovereignty.”

SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES RESOLUTION NO. 217

SENATE CONGRATULATES SENATOR PACMAN: Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and the other senators congratulate their colleague Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao after the Senate approved Senate Resolution No. 217 commending Pacquaio for his recent victory over former World Boxing Organization (WBO) Welterweight Champion Jessie Vargas, during Tuesday’s session, November 08, 2016. Apart from Pimentel, Senators Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian, Leila de Lima, Risa Hontiveros, Grace Poe, Richard Gordon, Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto and Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, along with Senators Loren Legarda, Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan II and Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan were also present to celebrate Pacquaio’s win.

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Boxing’s only eight division world champion and the reigning Fighter of the Decade Senator MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO (59-6-2, 38 KOs), from General Santos City, Philippines, dethroned World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight world champion JESSIE VARGAS (27-2, 10 KOs), of Las Vegas. Pacquiao and Vargas went mano a mano and toe-to-toe in a high-stakes welterweight showdown. While Pacquiao became a three-time WBO welterweight champion as well as the first senator to win a world title, Vargas gamely failed to enforce a term limit on the future Hall of Famer’s boxing career.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions, Wynn Las Vegas and Tecate, Pacquiao vs. Vargas took place Saturday, November 5 at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Pacquiao vs. Vargas and its three co-main event world title fights were produced and distributed live by Top Rank® Pay-Per-View, and was available on all conventional platforms, including all major cable and satellite systems, as well as Top Rank’s digital distribution via www.TopRank.tv and mobile devices. No replay is scheduled.

The three additional world championship fights on the pay-per-view telecast included: four-division world champion NONITO “The Filipino Flash” DONAIRE (37-4, 24 KOs), from General Santos City, Philippines, losing his WBO junior featherweight title to undefeated No. 1 contender JESSIE MAGDALENO (24-0, 17 KOs), from Las Vegas; and newly-minted WBO featherweight champion and two-time Mexican Olympian ÓSCAR VALDEZ (22-0, 19 KOs), from Nogales, Mexico, successfully defendIng his title, stopping No. 1 contender HIROSHIGE OSAWA (30-4-4, 19 KOs), from Osaka, Japan. The pay-per-view telecast opened with the rematch between top-rated contenders Chinese Olympic icon ZOU SHIMING (9-1, 2 KOs), from Guizhou, China, and PRASITAK PAPOEM (39-2-2, 24 KOs), of Buriram, Thailand, battling for the vacant WBO flyweight world title. Zou a two-time Olympic gold medalist trained by Freddie Roach, defeated Prasitak, who had entered the fight riding a two-year, 12-bout winning streak, with all of his victories coming by way of knockout.