Former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback Tim Tebow paid Fighter of the Decade Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao a training camp visit on Saturday. Tebow watched Pacquiao work out for nearly three hours in a gym session that including seven rounds of sparring and eight rounds of mitt work at Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif.
Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs), the sole congressional representative from the Sarangani province in the Philippines and boxing’s only eight-division world champion, is in deep training for his highly-anticipated May 2 welterweight world title unification battle against undefeated Floyd “Money” Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) which will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“It was the first time they had ever met, and yet it seemed they had known each other forever the way they immediately embraced each other,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.
“Manny’s training session was phenomenal and inspiring,” said Tebow, according to Dyan Castillejo, who recorded the scene for the Filipino television network ABS-CBN. “After training they had lunch next door until 7 p.m. They had so much to talk about. It was so much fun watching them have so much fun with each other. They have so much in common in terms of religious beliefs, philanthropy, being professional athletes and their Filipino backgrounds.”
Indeed, they do. Tebow and Pacquiao sent out photos of themselves at Wild Card via their own Instagram accounts.
“Awesome being with my Filipino and Christian brother @emmanuelpacquiao. #inspiration” wrote Tebow, while Pacquiao posted, “Good to be with my brother in Christ @TimTebow.”
“It was an unbelievable scene yesterday,” said Roach. “Tim Tebow is a great competitor, a standup guy who embraces his responsibility for being a good role model. He and Manny shared a lot yesterday. It was terrific.”
Born in Manila where his parents built a ministry, Tebow is scheduled to attend the May 1 opening of the Tebow CURE Hospital in Davao City, Philippines. For more information, please click this link. https://cure.org/2015/03/a-preview-of-the-tebow-cure-hospital/.
Promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank Inc., the Mayweather-Pacquiao live pay-per-view telecast will be co-produced and co-distributed by SHOWTIME PPV® and HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/ 6:00 p.m. PT.
