The moment Sylvester Stallone entered the famed Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, California, fans gathering outside immediately knew he was supporting Manny Pacquiao in his showdown with Floyd Mayweather.
For several hours, the actor behind the Rocky Balboa movie character sat beside the ring eagerly observing Pacquiao’s movements during his rounds of practice with his coach, Freddie Roach, on Saturday afternoon.
While he did not categorically say he was rooting for Pacquiao in the highly anticipated match, Stallone told the waiting fans outside the gym that the Filipino ring legend was simply the best and could beat Mayweather on May 2 at the MGM Grand Arena Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The action star likes Pacquiao simply because of the latter’s never-say-die attitude inside the ring, the same style that inducted Stallone into the International Boxing Hall of Fame through his portrayal of Balboa.
In the Rocky movies, Balboa was known to defy the odds and defeated formidable opponents. A smalltime boxer, Balboa became a celebrated champion.
Like Balboa, Pacquiao started out with nothing in his native Philippines but was able to beat the challenges to become the world’s only eight-division champion. And Balboa and Pacquiao both love playing the underdog, too.
Balboa, in the Rocky movies, was always the underdog but had displayed courage and determination to defeat James Lang and Ivan Drago.
An underdog in many of his fights, Pacquiao stepped into his first fight in the United States in 2001 as a late replacement but won via technical knockout against South African Lehlohonolo Ledwaba.
In his first fight with Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003, Paquiao had been heavily written off as having no chance against the Mexican great. But the Pacman mauled Barrera into submission to announce his arrival on the world stage.
Now, facing the unbeaten Mayweather in the richest fight in the history of the sport, Pacquiao is once again relishing the role of the underdog. He said he doesn’t care because it only motivates him to train harder.
Fans think Stallone, by visiting Pacquiao, is clearly rooting for the Pacman against Mayweather. But they are also hopeful that such support would turn out to be positive because the last time Stallone favoured a boxer to win, he failed in his prediction.
Stallone flew to Macau, China, in November to watch Pacquiao against American Chris Algieri. He predicted Algieri to win but the New York native was soundly beaten by Pacquiao.
Let’s get ready to rumble! Pick a fighter and place your bets with PlayUp for great odds. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
A bloodied Tim Tszyu has been cruelly denied in his quest to emulate his legendary father Kostya and become a unified world boxing champion…
Liam Wilson has suffered further heartbreak in Arizona, the Australian boxer losing his super-featherweight world-title fight against Mexican Oscar Valdez. In front of a…
Tim Tszyu has the chance to emulate his legendary father as a unified world boxing champion after the stakes were dramatically raised for his…
Australia's Alexander Volkanovski has lost his UFC featherweight title to Ilia Topuria, with the Spaniard scoring a stunning second round knockout in the main…
Jason Moloney has survived an enthralling 12-round world title defence against Saul Sanchez in Canada, opening the door to a blockbuster unification fight in…
Conor McGregor says he's returning to the UFC for a fight against Michael Chandler on June 29 in Las Vegas, calling it the "greatest…
