Manny Pacquiao 'Not Afraid To Die' Defending Philippines During Coronavirus Pandemic

Manny Pacquiao has said he is 'not afraid to die' serving the Philippines amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The boxing legend entered the political arena in 2010 and is currently a senator in his country.

PA

He of course made his name as a formidable fighter and it seems he has brought this courage and resilience to politics.

Explaining his willingness to sacrifice everything for his nation, he told the Manila Bulletin: "If you are a leader, you have to be a front-liner.

"You have to lead people and let people see that you are with them. I grew up poor. I know what they feel."

The 41-year-old has helped provide 50,000 testing kits through his foundation and has used his own funds to donate five buses to transport healthcare workers around the capital Manila, according to Stuff.

On top of this, he also donated 600,000 face masks to front-liners fighting the disease, according to ABS-CBN.

The Philippines currently has 462 cases of coronavirus with 33 deaths, and in light of the pandemic, Pacquiao has put his boxing career on hold.

His last bout was in July 2019 when he beat the previously undefeated Keith Thurman via split decision to capture the WBA's super welterweight title in Las Vegas. This victory meant that at the start of this year he became the first boxer in history to be a world champion across four decades.

He had been strongly linked with a showdown with former four-division champion Mikey Garcia, but any prospective fight is now on the back-burner.

It's okay to not panic. LADbible and UNILAD's aim with our Coronavirus campaign, Cutting Through, is to provide our community with facts and stories from the people who are either qualified to comment or have experienced first-hand the situation we're facing. For more information from the World Health Organisation on Coronavirus, click here.

Topics: World News, Boxing, Coronavirus

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey