Minister invites boxing legend to Cayman
Manny Pacquiao visits the Cayman Islands this weekend
(CNS): Manny Pacquiao, considered one of the greatest boxers of all times, will be arriving tomorrow for a brief visit to the Cayman Islands, where he will be attending two events on Grand Cayman Saturday and then flying to Cayman Brac on Sunday. Pacquiao (38), who is not only a sporting legend but also a politician, currently serving as a senator in the Philippine Congress, has held the WBO and lineal welterweight titles since 2016, and is currently in his third reign as WBO welterweight titlist.
According to official sources, Pacquiao was invited by Sports Minister Osbourne Bodden to attend the opening of the Bodden Town Boxing Gym and is expected to take an active part in the ceremony, which will be open to the public at the Haig Bodden Playing Field from 10am on Saturday.
While it’s not clear if the boxing legend is being paid for his appearance in the Cayman Islands or how much his visit is costing the Cayman Islands, US news is reporting that Pacquiao is asking for US$20 million for a fight against Terence Crawford this year.
The event on Saturday morning is the first phase of the government’s redevelopment of the entire sports venue, which is expected to open in early 2018, a government release stated. The expanded venue will feature a state-of-the-art boxing gym and associated facilities, alongside basketball and netball courts. It is expected “to attract increased patronage from across the eastern districts, as well as garner international fixtures now only staged in George Town”.
During his first trip to the Cayman Islands, Pacquiao will also host the Island Rumble boxing event at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex from 7pm on Saturday, and then fly to Cayman Brac on Sunday, 8 January.
The agenda for his visit to the Cayman Islands was organised by events company Cayman Mardi Gras, in partnership with the Ministry of Sports and the Ministry of Tourism. Other sponsors included global commodities firms SDKA and Cayman-based SDKA Securities.
Category: Politics
When using private funds to invest in any venture one must be sure it will provide a good ROI or at least make sense – choosing Pac made the most sense obviously.
We have a large and supportive Filipino community here in Cayman that are very unified and devoted to their people – was there any doubt in the organiser’s minds that choosing Pac was the most sensible option to guarantee the biggest crowd of paying supporters?
It’s business ppl, and business is business.
This event lost money if the crowd in attendance was any indication of the money they took in! Bolt drew a much bigger crowd
Drew a bigger crowd than if our own boxers were chosen though. And of course Bolt drew a bigger crown, I’d never heard of Pac before this actually. But I am not much in to boxing anyway. Nicest part of it are the ring girls.
Really badly organised event unfortunately. You cannot start at 7pm and by 11.30pm still have two fights left. People lose interest, and any event organiser worth their salt should gauge the crowd and realise that people are leaving the place in droves. Too much time between bouts, the VIP was laughable too – we were in the stands and had a much better view than the poor guys who’d been roped into $100CI deck chairs 40 yards from the ring lol. Lastly, not sure why we had the American national anthem when there were boxers from all over the world, but it was nice hearing it accapella, then it was nice hearing the filipino national anthem accapella too. It was NOT however nice to hear our own national anthem with backing music akin to a 70’s pornographic movie over the top. Who made that decision lol!
I would love to know what proportion of my country these vote-buying politicians have willed off to SDKA in repayment for this “generosity” of sponsoring this event (and boxing ring donation) in order to distract Cayman from the rising tide of political corruption.
“Washers and turkeys will no longer do, let us add million-dollar athletes, some entertainment and distraction and a few free event tickets.”
Caymanian voters please wake up!!!
SDKA International, one of UAE’s many dubious gemstone and rough diamond “traders” was the “rumble” title sponsor. These trading firms are in the business of providing liquidity for uncut and untraceable stones quarried from illegal mines and embargoed nations and converting them into cash to finance global horrors. There is a reason why there is a high concentration of these “no questions asked” dealers in the Gulf States. As business lines go, it really doesn’t get more unsavory than this. How does CIMA or Cayman Finance approve the establishment of a potential laundering machine like this in our own territory, while pretending to be vigilant to the FATF, the UK, and others? Are there any grown-ups in charge of CIMA, or have they all been blinded by the B-list celebrity power of Manny Pacquiao?
Conveniently, SDKA International’s founders also started an invite-only social network called “Hub Culture” and their own e-commerce digital crypto-currency called “VEN” to seemlessly bypass the AML/CTF/PCL protocols of the modern international payments system. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao might be forgiven for wearing their t-shirts and lacking the financial sophistication to understand such enterprises, but aren’t we supposed to be trying harder to demonstrate vigilance in the anti-money laundering realm? This stuff writes itself…
http://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/reports/Virtual-currency-key-definitions-and-potential-aml-cft-risks.pdf
Annnnnnd his trip to Cayman Brac was cancelled….. no surprise there
And why is Mr. Pacquiao visiting Cayman Brac????? Is it because the bluff Hilton/high school is now going to be turned into a world class boxing venue, to go along with the FIFA certified football field and soon to be Olympic swimming pool?
Yes, the next great boxer will be from Cayman Brac, inspired by Mr. Pacquiao’s visit – with thanks and praise going to the Minister of Driftwood from Bodden Town and Moses Trump – with partial credit to the Queen of Watering Place for starting the pork barrel spending on amenities for a community of less than 2,000 people.
Now it is time to bring the cruise ships to Brac, build the wind farm to replace power & light, turn the bluff into a first class championship golf course, develop a safe harbor yacht club, and declare the closed down southside hotels national historic properties.
Sports Tourism on Cayman Brac??? Wonder where all the visiting teams stay and who pays who for it – just saying. Better to use the money to keep crews beautifying the island – as got to give them credit, they did an outstanding job in a short period of time.
Mr. Pacquiao, if you are receiving any sort of honorarium/fee for your visit please donate it back to our community for people who need work – but if not we brackers are now at ease because election season is here and miracle of miracles, there will be work in April and May!!!!
Cayman has drawn some of the top US women’s soccer athletes in the last year…Olympic superstars that haven’t uttered homophobic slurs, or been dropped by major sponsors. Shouldn’t we focus the fanfare on inspiring winners and not the visiting idiots? #worsethananimals
We have a long dark record of inviting unsavory people here to be role models. Seems to be working.
And by the way unu bashing the man for being a boxer and trying to be a cristian i know some very cayman cristian that hide little papers on sunday and give them to the numba man ???? with like 10 numbers ?? true or lie?
Ooh?Dont worry about the funds the cheap labour the phillipos been doing in cayman for years have been paying for that its just a payback to the phillip comunity imagine its like 10,000 of them here taking 1$from each per week
CIG invites religious bigot to punch people in the face…
Should have just invited Tyson.
Homophobic Bible Thumper, no thanks.
Matthew preparing for politics and the ppm using govt funds to help him, I got a few marl road foi requests ready for that announcement hope Matthew is ready for public life!
Well if Kurt retires then we need another heavyweight in the LA
With all the government money, we encourage brawling.
How about inviting an organic farmer here?
So many other types of sports that should be encouraged here, but no, let’s embrace violent sports that end up causing the participants brain damage. There is no future with these old short-sighted so-called leaders in charge.
“Repetitive head trauma may be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and is considered the primary cause of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE),”
http://www.medicaldaily.com/head-blows-and-brain-injury-boxing-and-mixed-martial-arts-cause-similar-loss-320000
Wuss!
Whatever, simpleton.
manny should not shake ozzie’s hand…..
manny is just a another piece of driftwood accoridng to ozzie….
Loada
Is cayman still on the Filipino black list for the way it treats its imported workers ?
Why is there always someone mixing politics and sport. They are different and should stay that way.
Tell that to Senator Pacquiao
Can we put all MLA’s in the ring with him and see how long they last?
More seriously, why we are encouraging a representative of a regime which incites extra judiciary executions, and where the President has murdered (by his own admission) alleged drug dealers who never got the chance to present their side in a court of law is beyond me.
So far the event has cost Govt $20,000. I will send the foi response to you CNS
CNS: Thank you! You can send to info@caymannewsservice.com
The govt, is spending a lot money on him that was not and will never be any help to these islands. Yet they won’t give the Seamen any raise, they are the ones that laid the foundation for these islands that caused them to be where there are today. Voters remember them and vote them out on election day in may 2017.
Zzzzzz. Seamen, what have you done for me lately? No one deserves handouts for life.
11:18 am You are a real squat poo.
Please don’t disrespect the way we use the bathroom. This is bordering on Islamophobic.
11:18am typical low life, always ready to put down and denigrate people who they no very little of. Seek clarification on his involvement in sports/footbal, if you have no knowledge. Some of us are always up front to complain but never ready to help. Get a life, come out and show your strength and not your hate.
How on earth can this be a Negative thing for Cayman. Stop being so jealous of our achievements.
A homophobic brawler.
Would do well in politics here then ..or the church
Vote Pacquiao/Suckoo for Bodden Town 2017!
Nah mon, more west bay style methinks
What a joke. A few strategic FOI’s will determine how much this farce is costing us. Full card of international fighters my back foot, Matthew.
You overlook the bit where CIG is spending an undisclosed amount of money to open the Bodden Town gym in the heart of the Ministers constituency, 4 months before an election, and after years of the local boxing association having to go begging to the private sector for the most basic of resources. No coincidence in timing or location – your other back foot!
And it was actually Mr Suckoo who was pushing for the gym in BT. Wow Ossie desperation tek you ova bro
I hope the Minister or his chief officer will take every care in the despensstion of funds to host this boxing event. I think it is high time to stop the willy-nilly handing over of our country’s money without any thought being giving to accountability. I noticed on the news recently that even after the debacle with the football crash that various clubs are still not prooviding timely financials on the way they spend our money. This is a priority and the Minister really need to get a grip on this asap.
All of a sudden Ozzie is taking an interest in boxing….I don’t even understand how one of the most unhealthy looking elected members could be given the ministry of sports. Name ONE sport (and mouthing off is not a sport) that Ozzie has ever been connected to, I mean participated in. He is an embarrassment.
Football!!
I am sure that pacquiao is very fit, but can’t say the same about the other two personalities mentioned. Extreme weight loss coach is desperately needed for this one.
Ossie was very involved in football (representing Bodden Town district) throughout his teens and early twenties. Like all of us he has aged and as such not been as physically active. But he remained involved in the sport even before undertaking politics.
This Pacquiao issue may be just a political move on PPM/Ossie’s part but, in fairness, no one can accuse Ossie that he has no background of direct involvement in sports.
Yea yea Ossie I used to kick ball too. That doesn’t mean I was involved in the development of sports. Come in now stop begging
I would guess “cow-cod whipping” was his sport