Manny and the madness

THIS is one of the best profiles on our Pambansang Kamao, Manny Pacquiao yet.

(Photo by Mark Seliger/GQ)

The thing is, a number of people have stolen from Manny, been caught by Manny, then been forgiven by Manny: Never has a fighter been possessed of so pacifistic a nature. What's more, there seems to be a consensus that these redeemed-Judas tableaux were… pre-scripted.

"He has made numerous people in his camp believe in God with what he's done," Ramos says. "Do you understand?"

Abac Cordero puts it more directly: "I think he was put here to make us better men. There is a feeling that those who betrayed him had to, so that Manny could teach them."

"Sometimes, the way things happen with Manny, it's like, parables," Ramos says. "Here's one: At the last training camp there were about thirty of us there. Now, one of my jobs is to lower the overall costs of living. So we go to this Thai restaurant next to [Roach's gym]. Our bill there was between $500 and $700 every day. So I said, 'Manny, why don't we buy some food from the local Philippine restaurant and have it delivered to your apartment? It'll only cost about $150.' Manny took me by the shoulders and in front of everybody said, 'Don't ever mess with another man's livelihood. Now let us enjoy their food.' " (Click Manny Pacquiao in GQ.)