If you watched the much-hyped Manny Pacquiao/Juan Manuel Marquez fight on Saturday night, you know that perhaps the most unlikely couple to ever sit ringside at a boxing match sat ringside for that match: Mitt and Ann Romney.
It was also reported, by Greg Bishop of the New York Times specifically, that Romney gave Pacquiao a bit of pre-fight pep talk in his locker room prior to the fight.
Before the fight, Pacquiao strode deep inside Grand Garden Arena, through a maze of tunnels. He entered Dressing Room 2 at 5:40 p.m. This was about an hour earlier than for his previous foray against Marquez. Pacquiao was so early that he caught the drug testers off guard. One ran off to fetch a test kit. Pacquiao just smiled, his face filled with confidence, so sure.
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Then it got surreal. In came Mitt Romney. Yes, that Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and the presidential runner-up, every hair on his head in place. Romney, in fact, came in twice. His introduction was at once awkward and hilarious.
“Hi, Manny,” he said. “I’m Mitt Romney. I ran for president. I lost.”
In case you haven’t heard, things didn’t go so well for Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night: he was knocked out cold in the sixth round by a vicious punch from Marquez. This is how Mitt and Ann reacted to the knockout…
Let this be a lesson to all you boxers out there: this is what happens when Mitt Romney gives you a pre-fight pep talk. Consider yourself warned.