LOS ANGELES – Manny Pacquiao received a visit from fellow Christian athlete Jeremy Lin of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
Pacquiao, coming off 12 rounds of sparring, had only words of praise for Lin, who was similarly complimentary of the "Pacman."
"I can relate in some ways, just being a Christian athlete, being an Asian athlete or just being in the spotlight," said Lin.
The two spoke about their Christian faith and life as two of L.A.'s most high-profile athletes, and even discussed another recent visitor – Tim Tebow, another athlete who is vocal about his faith.
"Tim Tebow is a strong guy," said Pacquiao.
"I'm not that close to him, but when I was in New York, I talked to him for a little bit," said Lin.
Of course, they also talked about basketball.
"It's cool to cross over to different sports and expand the game, whether it's coaching, playing or being in management and what he's done," said Lin.
"I've been able to follow and see that it's really cool, great for the country, great for the sport," he added.
While Los Angeles is a sports hubbub, it is also an entertainment capital, and Pacquiao was thrilled with the recent Philippine premiere of "Kid Kulafu," the Paul Soriano-helmed biopic about the boxer's early life.
"Maraming salamat sa lahat ng sumuporta at nanood ng 'Kid Kulafu.' 'Yan po ang story ni Manny Pacquiao before boxing, ang pangalan ko. Ako po si Kid Kulafu," said the "Pacman."
There's also been some Hollywood buzz that Pacquiao could appear in the next "Expendables" sequel.
On Monday, one of the stars of "Expendables 3," UFC champion Ronda Rousey, paid the boxer a visit.
"It would be amazing if he was on there. He'd probably beat every one up on there though. There would be no story, because Manny is just the end card," she said.
However, Pacquiao would rather leave the violence in the ring rather than portray it on screen.
"Depende, depende. Gusto ko naman ng Christian movies," he said.
The speculation could be traced back to Pacquiao's fight against Chris Algieri last year, when "Expandables 2" leading men Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone visited him in his locker room.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
