Manny Pacquiao may have lost his Hollywood celebrity fans, but he still has a beauty queen for a fan: reigning Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach.
There’s just one caveat.
During her press conference at Hotel Novotel in Quezon City on Thurs, Apr 14, Pia said she admires the Pinoy boxer, who recently won his match against Timothy Bradley Jr.
“I admire him as a boxer. I think that if it was indeed his last fight, [it was a] great way to end it,” she said, adding she wanted Pacquiao to win “so bad.”
Pia and Pacquiao met for the first time at Hotel Novotel hours before the press conference (and after the boxer’s victory parade from Makati to Quezon City).
The meeting is significant for one reason: It was his first time to meet since Pia won the Miss Universe crown, a promise she made to her fans on social media after Pacquiao lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year.
“During my conversation with him earlier, binanggit ko ulit sa kanya ‘yon. Sabi ko sa kanya, ‘congratulations in your victory. We’re very proud of you. Hindi ko alam kung alam mo ‘to, pero nasabi ko no’n na babawi ako sa Miss Universe kasi sobrang sad talaga ko.’ I’m a big fan of Manny Pacquiao as a boxer, so I said that to him. Sabi ko, ‘hindi ko alam kung alam mo, pero nag-tweet ako no’n,’ then sabi niya, ‘oo alam ko ‘yon’,” she said.
But here’s the thing: Pia said she admires Pacquiao “as a boxer,” a point she mentioned three times while discussing Pacquiao during the press conference.
“I’m still proud of him as a boxer. Even if we have different opinions on some things, but we’re both Filipinos and as a fellow Filipino, I was proud of his victory for the Philippines,” the beauty queen said.
Pia did not elaborate what these “different opinions” are, but it can be remembered that Manny receivedflak after he said people who want same-sex marriage are lower than animals.
Pia, on the other hand, is a vocal supporter of gender equality and the LGBT community. In fact, beauty queens are seen as gay icons in the Philippines.
