Pacquiao vs. Marquez III: Don King's Comments on Pac-Man Right on the Money

Don King is back!

Almost everyone in the world has an opinion on Manny Pacquiao, with most of them being overwhelmingly positive.

King was recently asked about his thoughts on Pac-Man, and big surprise; he was not at a loss for words:

"

I love Manny Pacquiao. With Manny Pacquiao, I would do a Thrilla in Manila 2. You gotta be able to go back to Ferdinand Marcos and Imelda Marcos. You got to go back to the Philippines, that was there who was our allies fighting the Japanese. You gotta go to Japan, Iwajima, Okinawa.

Then when you do that you bring all the people in from all walks of life, those who are alive that still remember and those who are the young who should know and be taught of what it used to be.

You gotta be able to deal with those types of things—and then a fighter stands up and becomes a giant in the hearts and minds of those who are the unbelievers. And that is what counts, that the believers, they just exalt in his supremacy and his ability in his physical pursuit of excellence. Oh, I’m so excited.

"

Did you catch all that?

King essentially believes that the Filipino Destroyer should be showing off his talents to the world, not just a few thousand people in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao is a rare athlete that can transcend sports. The Filipino congressman knows this, but doesn’t really stretch himself beyond his own country and the United States. He needs more worldwide exposure.

How cool would a Pacquiao vs. Mayweather fight be in Africa or China? Or how about Antarctica? OK, that’s not going to happen, but I think Pacquiao needs to diversify his locales.

The Thrilla in Manila is an all-time classic fight, partly because of the exotic location.

Boxers today are too concerned with how many zeros are in the payout. That’s why everything is in Vegas. Pacquiao vs. Marquez III is missing some sort of luster around it. Having the fight in Marquez’s home country of Mexico would have been a cool twist to an otherwise underwhelming fight.

I think Pacquiao should take King’s advice and push for a Mayweather fight on foreign soil. What’s wrong with broadening the appeal of your sport?