Anthony Quemuel is such a big Manny Pacquiao fan that he dropped by a Pleasanton sporting goods store to buy the second pair of the boxer’s special Nike “Pac Man” shoes that he’s purchased this week.

“I need to have at least two pair because they’re exclusive,” said Quemuel, 29, of Union City. “When they came out, they sold out and you couldn’t find them anywhere. The retail value was $110. They were going on the Internet for $225.”

It’s no surprise that the Philippine superstar with lightning-fast punches has such a strong following in the Bay Area, home to more than 356,000 Filipino Americans like Quemuel. But Pacquiao is becoming a household name, one of the rare sports stars with crossover appeal to even non-sports fans.

And although experts say he’s not quite there, his appeal may translate into more marketing power for the man whom GQ magazine, in its April edition, calls a cross between Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara, Czech playwright Vaclav Havel, boxing legend Muhammad Ali, actor Sylvester Stallone, NFL quarterback Michael Vick and “American Idol” singer Clay Aiken.

“I definitely believe he’s going to be a crossover star,” said Marcus Troy, a Montreal blogger who writes about culture, lifestyle and fashion trends. “We haven’t seen someone with his kind of charisma and skill in a long time.”

Pacquiao, 31, has won world boxing titles in seven weight divisions and is ranked as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Pacquiao’s welterweight bout Saturday night against Joshua Clottey drew nearly 50,994 people to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the biggest U.S. boxing crowd in 17 years and third-largest in U.S. boxing history, even more remarkable because the sport’s popularity has been waning.

But his popularity is transcending sports. Last year, Time magazine named him one of the world’s 100 most influential people.

Earlier this month, Pacquiao received hearty cheers on ABC-TV’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” even after crooning a less-than-stellar rendition of George Benson’s “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You.”

Credits to source: http://sports.inquirer.net

MANILA, Philippines—For all his swagger and blabber, Floyd Mayweather Jr. fears Manny Pacquiao without a doubt.

That’s the consensus opinion of those privy with the last-minute efforts to save what could have been the dream fight of the century.

At least three of Pacquiao’s closest advisers—Top Rank head honcho Bob Arum, Mike Concz and Rex “Wakee” Salud—believe Mayweather really wanted to avoid fighting the Filipino superstar.

The undefeated American, they chorused, will regret having given up the chance to earn at least $25 million from the projected March 13 showdown in Las Vegas.

Unlike Arum, Pacquiao declined to call Mayweather a coward, although he is understood to be very angry that negotiations for the fight fell through Wednesday night (Saturday in Manila) in Santa Monica in Los Angeles, California.

Arum terminated the talks after Mayweather refused to budge from his demand to subject Pacquiao to random drug tests (See related story on A1).

“I’m very disappointed that we could not make this fight for the fans and I am angered by the false accusations from Golden Boy and the Mayweather camp that I used some type of drugs,” said Pacquiao in a statement.

“That is why I have instructed our American lawyers to proceed with the lawsuit to clear my name.”

Pacquiao filed the lawsuit against the Mayweathers (Floyd Jr. and Floyd Sr. and the boxer’s uncle Roger) and Golden Boy Promotions’ Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoya for insinuating that he used steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs to climb up the weight ranks.

Arum, who headed Team Pacquiao during the mediation talks on Tuesday, said he knew all along that Mayweather was not keen on fighting Pacquiao.

“Floyd Mayweather is a coward,” Arum told Mark Vester of Boxing-scene.com. “He will never fight anyone that will remotely give him a tough fight.”

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Source: http://sports.inquirer.net

The hotly anticipated fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao was teetering on the brink of collapse on Wednesday over a dispute regarding drug testing procedures, a debate that has some experts standing on Mayweather’s side.

On Wednesday, Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank proposed a drug testing schedule that would include three blood draws and an unlimited number of urine tests in an attempt to salvage the bout that hit a negotiating snag on Tuesday, when Mayweather’s side insisted on random Olympic-style drug testing administered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. The world’s top two boxers had agreed to meet on March 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for what is expected to become the largest-grossing bout in the sport’s history.

Arum said frequent urine testing is sufficient in the final 30 days to prevent either fighter from using performance-enhancing drugs. He said Pacquiao is willing to submit blood samples in early January, in mid-February around 30 days prior to the fight and then again in the locker room immediately upon conclusion of the fight.

In the interim, Arum insisted urine testing would be sufficient.

“Everything can be picked up by urinalysis,” Arum said. “Everything.”

Travis Tygart, the CEO of USADA, disputed Arum’s contention and said a combination of blood and urine testing is required to be effective. He also said that to be most effective, athletes would have to be subject to random testing while out of competition.

If any testing is conducted in the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight outside of what is mandated by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, it would be during competition since the fighters are scheduled to start training in early January.

“To have an effective program, you have to collect blood and urine,” Tygart said. “The reason for that is that there are some things that are only detected in urine and there are some prohibited drugs that are both very lethal and potent from a performance-enhancing standpoint that are only detected in blood. One of those, for example, is human-growth hormone (HGH). There is no urine-based tested for human-growth hormone. It doesn’t show up in the urine. It’s only a blood-based test. That’s true of a number of prohibited substances, particularly those that would enhance and aid a boxer.”

Experts told Yahoo! Sports that the amount of blood the fighters would be required to give is minimal and would have no impact upon their performance.

Pacquiao is reticent to give blood within days of a fight because he believes it weakens him, his adviser, Michael Koncz, told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday by telephone from Manila, The Philippines, where he has been meeting with Pacquiao.

An extraordinarily angry Arum, who had harsh words for Mayweather’s camp, which includes the boxer’s father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, said a deal would have to be reached Thursday in order to salvage the show.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com