Floyd Mayweather holds a notorious reputation for his lavish gambling forays on sporting events. The man isn’t called “Money” Mayweather for no reason. But he isn’t the only high profile boxer with a serious penchant for gambling. In the May 4 issue of Sports Illustrated, Chris Mannix revealed Manny Pacquiao’s extravagant gambling habit:
In 2011, Buboy saw Pacquiao at a crossroads. Years of infidelity had put his marriage in jeopardy; years of free spending and hard gambling had put his financial future at risk, too. Everyone in Pacquiao’s camp has a gambling story. Manny’s younger brother Bobby recalls regular weekend trips to Southern California casinos, where Pacquiao would routinely drop $100,000 at the poker tables. Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, recounts the phone calls from casinos in Australia and Macao, asking him to cover Pacquiao’s markers. Roach recalls being at cockfights with Pacquiao in the Philippines, where Pacquiao would flash 5–0 with his hands, indicating a $50,000 bet. At the subject of cockfighting—which is legal in the Philippines—Buboy shakes his head. Once, he says, Pacquiao bet 16 million pesos on a cockfight, or around $360,000. “It needed to stop; I’m glad it stopped,” says Fernandez. “He’s much happier without it.”
Pacquiao’s gambling exploits don’t quite match up to Mayweather’s gambling highs, but they’re mighty close. Throwing down $360,000 at a cockfight seems like a serious problem. Fortunately, Pacquiao has stopped attending cockfights and throwing money around like it’s candy. That’s not behavior fit for a guy running for president.
