LOS ANGELES—It’s not everyday people from around the world gets a full glimpse of Manny Pacquiao’s life.
Most people get news about Pacquiao from news pieces and newspaper articles and despite the full-time coverage of Philippine networks like GMA and ABS-CBN; no one really delves into Pacquiao’s life after training.
But this Sunday, November 16, HBO will try to unveil the Pacquiao curtain.
The cable networks Emmy award winning reality documentary drama show 24/7 will feature Pacquiao and The Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya in the coming weeks leading up to their mega showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on December 6.
Like the title of the show 24/7 and its motto ‘step into their lives before they step into the ring’, HBO camera crews are giving the public an intimate view of De La Hoya and Pacquiao’s life while they are training for arguably the biggest match in their career.
The HBO crew assigned to Pacquiao arrived last week to Los Angeles. They will cover Pacquiao up to 15 hours a day, seven days a week which will culminate into a half-hour episode on Sunday, said Jackson Nguyen, one of the producers of HBO’s 24/7.
"The truth of the matter is HBO doesn’t just do the 24/7 series on just anybody and the amount of people and the amount of production that goes into it is the highest caliber when it comes to sports television," said Nguyen to the Asian Journal during a film session at the Wildcard gym on Thursday. "For Manny and De La Hoya to have this coverage is absolutely amazing for not only them but boxing itself."
"What we really want to do is be a fly on the wall with the camp and cover him as if we were one of the entourage," Nguyen added on the crews approach to filming.
From the moment Pacquiao wakes up to moment he goes to sleep, a cameraperson will be there to cover it.
Pacquiao said that it’s an honor to be on the show.
"You know the 24/7 crew, everyday wherever you go," he said. "There’s always a camera in front of you."
Pacquiao said he doesn’t mind the extra attention. He’s already used to it from fans converging on him wherever he goes.
"Yah, I know," he said laughing.
Pacquiao said that people are going to learn just how hard he trains for a fight.
"They will see how’s my life after training and in training and preparing for the fight," said Pacquiao. "It’s a big honor for me and it’s really important for me to win this fight for our country and for the Filipino people to be proud."
Nguyen said that featuring a Filipino like Pacquiao on the hit show is a huge leap for Filipinos and Asians in general.
"We’ve given this type of coverage and attention to Floyd Mayweather, an African American, Oscar De La Hoya, a Mexican-American, and we’ve also given the attention to people over the pond like Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton," said Nguyen, who just finished filming the 24/7 series on the Calzaghe and Roy Jones Jr. fight. "And to have an Asian as the attention grabber of a show is a huge leap not only in sports but entertainment in general. And it’s not just the Filipino community but for Asians as well."
Nguyen, who has been covering Pacquiao for the past week, said that people are going to learn just how great of a person Pacquiao really is.
"It’s an absolute privilege to cover these athletes especially Manny who has such a large influence not only on the Filipino people but Asians in general," said Nguyen. "I think there’s a lot that people can learn from his humble beginnings and he still lives that way. We are really noticing how much of a people’s champion he really is…it’s very impressive to see somebody who has acquired that much claim but still be humble."
Nguyen added that Pacquiao has already made a tremendous impact on the Filipino people and that when they air the series, people we’ll get a sense of how important Pacquaio is to the community.
"I think they are really going to learn that he is really a people’s champ," said Nguye. "He gives more than any athlete that we have ever seen. It’s just my opinion but I don’t think a fighter or athlete has this kind of influence over his people since maybe even Muhammed Ali. Because of the fact of what Ali did for the African Americans, I think Manny is doing it for his people. It’s widespread and it has nothing to do with sports and I think I’m going to learn that win or lose, he’s affected people all over the world."
The first Pacquiao/ De La Hoya 24/7 series episode will air this Sunday, 8:30 pm on HBO. There will be four episodes total with the finale airing on December 4, two days before the mega showdown.
(www.asianjournal.com)
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