Boxer Pacquiao packs punch with Israel support

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.