Arum to Pacquiao: I am sorry

Bob Arum apologized to Sen. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao for preempting a possible 2022 presidential bid announcement by the boxing icon.

The Top Rank boss and Pacquiao’s former promoter said he was “very sorry” for declaring the eight-division world champion would run for president two years from now.

He said Pacquiao did not tell him anything about running for the 2022 presidential election.

“Well again, again I shouldn’t [have] said anything, I mean, you know, again that was what it seemed like he was implying. I shouldn’t have said anything, and I apologized for that,” Arum told The Manila Times on Thursday morning through an overseas call.

“When he decides to run, he will make an announcement. It shouldn’t be me [who should] talk about it,” Arum added. Asked if he was surprised that Pacquiao would immediately deny his comments, Arum said: “No because I spoke out of term. He said things that led me to believe that’s what he was indicating. He didn’t say the words, so I shouldn’t have said anything, it was my fault.”

But Arum said the 41-year-old Pacquiao would be a great leader of the nation.

“I love all the best for Manny. He is a terrific person and he will be a great leader of the country,” said Arum.

Arum, who will turn 90 in 2022, added that if ever Pacquiao would win the presidency, it would be his greatest legacy.

“To produce a president, that would certainly be a great legacy. He is going to be a great president, and that’s all I have to say,” said Arum, who had worked along with many boxing legends, including “The Greatest” Muhammad Ali, but not yet with a “future president of the Philippines.”

Arum had said Pacquiao would run for the Philippines’ highest government position during a Zoom teleconference call with World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman. “The first president I think we’ll get, as a fighter, is Manny Pacquiao,” said Arum to Sulaiman which was posted on talksport.com last Monday morning.

“I did a Zoom telephone call with him, ‘Bob, I’m gonna run in 2022 and, when I win, I want you there at my inauguration.’”

But the Pacquiao camp immediately denied Arum’s claim later on that day.

“As far as I know, We never talked about politics. The last time we talked on zoom, Bob discussed possible fight schedules but never about politics. Our discussion was all about boxing,” said Pacquiao in a statement sent first to The Manila Times.

Pacquiao also explained that there was no time to talk about politics now, adding that the country needed unity and cooperation to help the people in this time of health crisis.

Source: msn phillipines

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