Boxing-Filipino Pacquiao, a man of multiple layers (Reuters)
By Mark Lamport-Stokes LAS VEGAS, April 30 (Reuters) – Very few sportsmen have pursued as many career paths as boxer Manny Pacquiao, an eight-division world champion who has also made his name outside the ring as a politician, philanthropist, lawmaker and singer. The Filipino southpaw, who will take on unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather in a heavily anticipated welterweight showdown at the MGM Grand on Saturday, is unquestionably one of the most intriguing figures in contemporary sport. Pacquiao has worked as an actor, he is a military reservist with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Reserve Force of the Philippine Army and in 2010 he won a seat in his country’s national congress. The ever-smiling Pacquiao is also a humble man of remarkable paradoxes — a richly gifted boxer blessed with lightning-fast hand and foot speed who can unleash a withering flurry of jabs to the body and head while displaying a gentle human touch.