MANILA, Philippines – Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao did not
take offense over the memes that flooded the Internet following his
loss, including those posted by Canadian singer Justin Bieber in his Instagram account.
Upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on
Wednesday morning, Pacquiao told ABS-CBN News that he would just pray
for those who made fun of his loss.
“Sabi nga ng kautusan ng Panginoon, pray for those who persecuted
you. So we will pray for them, we will pray for them, okay? Patawarin
natin sila,” he said.
Several boxing fans were shocked by Pacquiao’s knockout loss to Juan
Manuel Marquez on Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila).
But this also gave way to memes making fun of the loss, some of which were re-posted by Bieber on his Instagram account.
Bieber's posts were accompanied by short write-ups on his feelings about a possible bout between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“[Mayweather] has nothing to gain fighting Pacqiao. Floyd has never in his professional career lost a fight and Pacqiao lost his last two fights,” he said.
“If Floyd wins it's not that big of a deal cuz it would be his third loss in a row, and if he loses he's gonna ruin his legacy either way there's no big win for Mayweather.. Mayweather is boxing,” he added.
Bieber's posts elicited thousands of comments, with some saying they find no harm in the memes because they are funny.
Other people, however, asked Bieber for respect for Pacquiao and the Filipino people, with the hashtag #RespectThePhilippinesBieber making it to the top trending Twitter topics in the Philippines.
source: abs-cbnnews.com
