Manny Pacquiao's Mother Thinks Protestant Faith Responsible for KO?
Manny Pacquiao's recent knockout defeat at the hands of four-time opponent Juan Manuel Marquez upset his mother Dionisia Pacquiao, who believes his conversion from Catholicism to Protestantism had a hand in his loss.
Ms. Pacquiao recently spoke about her disapproval of Pacquiao's change of Christian denomination in an Inquirer Global Nation report.
"That's what he gets for changing his religion," the 33-year-old's mother reportedly said. "Since the 'Protestant' pastors came into his life, he has not focused on his boxing."
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Despite her alleged issues with Pacquiao's faith, Ms. Pacquiao also recently told GMA networks that she was praying for her son to end his boxing career.
"I have long asked you son, it is time to retire because you started boxing at such a young age. I always pray that he will stop," Ms. Pacquiao said about her son on the network. "I asked God to tell my son to stop."
Before his loss to Marquez, Pacquiao spoke to ESPN Magazine about how his faith made him a stronger fighter.
"What I can say is, if God is with you, who can be against you," Pacquiao questioned. "All things are possible with God."
The well-known pugilist described why his faith is so important to him.
"Because God loves us so much. He doesn't want us to die. He takes no pleasure in the death of anyone," Pacquiao told ESPN. "That's what He said. I mean, if we don't have God in our life, we're considered dead."
Despite his faith, Pacquiao told the publication that he can still have a "killer instinct" in the ring before he suffered a sixth-round knockout on Saturday.
"Boxing is a sport. We allow each other to hit each other, but I'm not treating my opponent like my enemy," Pacquiao said. "We're doing a job to entertain people."
