There might not be any members of the tribe in the ring when Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather duke it out in a highly anticipated title fight late Saturday, but one of the boxers likely glanced at a mezuzah on his way to the bout.
Pacquiao, a Filipino born-again Christian, has the Jewish ritual door amulets all over his house, promoter Bob Arum told an Israeli journalist recently.
“All over, I couldn’t believe. Every door has a big mezuzah,” Arum, who is Jewish, told Israeli journalist Elie Seckbach at a pre-fight gathering in Las Vegas. “I never had a fighter put a mezuzah up.”
In a video posted on YouTube, Seckbach tells Arum that Pacquiao told him “boker tov” and “baruch Hashem,” Hebrew for “good morning” and “God bless,” before making a statement in support of Israel.
According to Arum, the fighter has been to Israel three times and is a big supporter of the Jewish State.
It’s not just the country Israel that Pacquiao loves, but also his fifth son, born April 2014, who is also named Israel.
Pacquiao, 36, a two-term congressman with a music and film career, credits the grace of God for lifting him from poverty in his youth and later guiding him away from a life of excess that his ring success made possible.
Saturday night’s fight, five years in the making, is being billed as ” the fight of the century,” and has brought thousands to Las Vegas and millions more to TV screens to watch the two world-class boxers finally go one on one.
The long-awaited bout will rewrite the record books as the most lucrative fight of all time.
Total revenue for the bout could reach an eye-watering $400 million, fueled by as many as three million purchases on pay-per-view television.
The breathtaking figures — a possible $200 million payday for the unbeaten American Mayweather and an estimated $100 million bonanza for Philippine icon Pacquiao — have intensified the spotlight on a fight between two of the greatest pugilists of their generation.
As a taster for the main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, a raucous crowd of 11,500 turned out for Friday’s weigh-in, as Pacquiao and Mayweather went nose-to-nose.
The few tickets that did go on sale for the bout itself were reportedly snapped up in one minute, with A-listers and high-rollers making up the vast majority of a 16,800 sell-out crowd, making the fight more akin to a nightout at the Oscars than two men attempting to pound the other to the canvas.
“Pacman,” who undoubtedly had the crowd on his side at the weigh-in, will go into the ring with all of the Philippines in his corner.
Streets will be empty on fight night — Sunday morning in the Philippines — as the nation of 100 million cheers its “National Fist.” Guns often fall silent in the war-torn south of the country when the beloved Pacquiao is in action.
The brash Mayweather touts his status as a money-making machine and comes from a troubled past that includes jail time for one of a string of domestic violence incidents.
Mayweather, 47-0 with 26 knockouts, is a 2-1 favorite to add Pacquiao’s World Boxing Organization world title to his own World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council belts.
Public opinion is with Pacquiao; boxing experts say Mayweather is more likely to triumph, most likely by 12-round decision.
Mayweather, 38, is a supremely skilled boxer and potentially devastating counter-puncher, famed for his ability to hit without being hit.
Pacquiao, who owns a record of 57-5-2 with 38 knockouts, says he is content in his underdog role.
A winner of world titles in an unprecedented eight weight divisions, Pacquiao noted that he’s beaten plenty of big foes, among them Oscar De La Hoya in 2008.
“No one thought I could beat Oscar, and I was the underdog then,” said Pacquiao.
