Manny Pacquiao: Pac-Man Immortalized on Canvas Ahead of Marquez Fight

What do you get the "Pac-Man" who has everything? Why, a portrait, of course!

As it turns out, Manny Pacquiao, aside from having worldwide fame, fortune, boxing titles, a congressional seat in the Philippines and a date with Juan Manuel Marquez in the ring, also has an official painter in fellow countryman Jun Aquino.

Aquino unveiled his two latest masterpieces, one of Pacquiao and Marquez in combat and the other of Pacquiao celebrating victory, at the first stop of a four-city press tour for the two fighters leading up to their November 12th bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Clearly, Aquino's biased, though it's hard to blame him for picking Pac-Man, both for his superiority as a fighter and his popularity among Filipinos everywhere.

Aquino got into painting full-time after losing the job he'd held for 25 years, deciding on Pacquiao as his chief subject after having previously been inspired to paint by the "Thrilla in Manila" between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1975.

With a little bit of luck (and help from the wonders of the internet), Aquino's work caught the attention of Pacquiao's people, who are currently helping Aquino to set up an exhibition of his work in Las Vegas to go along with the Pacquiao-Marquez fight next month. In the meantime, he'll be gathering reference materials first-hand at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, where Pacquiao is set to train ahead of the match.

It's always nice to hear about sports fans putting their "fandom" to good use, in ways other than, say, yelling at their TVs or rioting in the streets. The fact that Aquino was able to pull himself out of a difficult situation by combining his artistic talent with his love of boxing shows once again the power of sport to inspire people who aren't athletes to achieve great things with their own abilities.

As for Pacquiao, he may be a tough guy in the ring, but I wouldn't be surprised if he blushed a bit upon seeing himself so deftly immortalized in another man's brush strokes. Now, if only Floyd Mayweather Jr. had a personal artist, perhaps he/she and Jun Aquino could preview the long-awaited bout on canvas.

After all, that may be the closest we ever come to seeing Pac-Man and Money May in the ring together.