World Boxing Association (WBA) "regular" welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao believes his upcoming fight with Adrien Broner is the perfect opportunity to sit down with his in-ring rival to discuss the word of God.
Pacquiao will defend his title against Broner on January 19th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, as the main event of a Showtime Pay-Per-View card.
Broner is one of the most controversial figures in the sport, with numerous past arrests for a variety of offenses. And his pre-fight banter is usually explicit.
Pacquiao became an Evangelical Christian in 2012 though his mother Dionecia Dapidran-Pacquiao.
He believes Broner can also be placed on the right path to become a born-again Christian.
"I’d like to share the word of God to him. Yes, he can still change for the better. We understand him,” Pacquiao told The Manila Times.
As far as the upcoming fight, Pacquiao is making a big impression in training camp.
The eight division world champion, who is nearly 40, has been sparring hard with George Kambosos.
Kambosos believes the Filipino superstar still has the punching power to deal Broner his first knockout loss.
Broner has tasted defeat three times in the past, to Shawn Porter, Mikey Garcia and Marcos Maidana - but all of the losses have been by decision. In the loss against Maidana, Broner was down twice and badly hurt - but he showed a lot of heart by fighting his way to the final bell.
“If someone’s gonna knock Broner out, Manny can do it,” Kambosos told The Inquirer.
“I expect Manny to win every round, win convincingly. It’s not an easy fight. Broner is a hell of a fighter, a good boxer and he’s training very, very hard for this fight. This is an opportunity for him to push his career back up. He needs this win but Manny understands that.”
