The top boxer in the world, Manny Pacquiao, met Bill Clinton this week in Las Vegas. Pacquiao is focused on Saturday night's fight with Ricky Hatton, but they probably talked a little politics, because Pacquiao says the next phase of his life will be in the political sphere.During a chat with FanHouse, Pacquiao was asked whether he'll be running for office in the Philippine general election of 2010.
"As of right now, I plan to," Pacquiao said. "That's my goal, is to help people. That's the most important thing in my heart. I'm fighting still because I try to do my part for the Philippines, my country, and I think that's the next step for me to help people."
Pacquiao is enormously popular in the Philippines, although athletic popularity doesn't necessarily translate to political popularity. Pacquiao has run for office before and lost.
But Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, told me he thinks Pacquiao may be president of the Philippines some day. Pacquiao says all his focus right now is on Hatton, but it's clear that he has big thoughts for doing things much bigger than boxing.
We'll have Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton results and a live blog Saturday night here at FanHouse.
