Mr Pacquiao, who is a member of the Philippines house of representatives, was speaking to local station TV5 earlier this week for its election coverage. In a clip posted online in Tagalog , he tells the interviewer: "It's common sense. Will you see any animals where male is to male and female is to female? They know how to distinguish male from female.
If we approve [of] male on male, female on female, then man is worse than animals. Filipino comedian Vice Ganda and singer Aiza Seguerra, who are openly gay, have criticised Mr Pacquiao for his comments, calling him a "hypocrite" and a "false prophet". Local gay rights organisation and political group Ladlad condemned his remarks and issued a call to voters to boycott Mr Pacquiao. I say, 'I am gay, but I am a man like you. This is my life and I separate my orientation.
Cruz's idol, late US boxer Emile Griffith, came out as bisexual in but suffered the ignominy of vicious rumors about his sexuality throughout his career. In , in the lead up to his title bout against Benny Paret, the Cuban boxer taunted Griffith using the word "maricon," Spanish slang for faggot.
When the fight arrived, Griffith unloaded on Paret with a vengeance, landing 27 unanswered punches in succession. Paret died from his injuries in hospital 10 days later. Read: Boxer Mike Towell dies after bout.
At five feet four inches and weighing little over 60kgs lbs , Cruz doesn't cut an intimidating figure. However, once his hands have been wrapped and his gloves pulled on, the blurring speed of his shadow punches is frightening to witness. Cruz can still vividly remember the feeling of stepping into the ring for the first time as an openly gay man, retaining his WBO Latino Featherweight title against Mexican Jorge Pazos.
Always in the ring, always," he repeats, emphasizing the emotion of the moment. Right now, I feel free and I'm very happy. Such is Cruz's influence in the gay community and wider sporting world, Jason Collins -- the first openly gay active basketball player -- contacted him to say he's an inspiration for "coming out of the closet. Cruz's husband, Jose Manuel -- the boxer clasps his hands together, visibly proud, at the mention of his name -- will be in his corner Saturday. With gay marriage illegal in Puerto Rico -- the Caribbean island where the couple resides, albeit at opposite sides of the country -- and many US states, they had some thinking to do.
Cruz has had a great year and he's won his last five fights. But his opponent, year-old Brit Terry Flanagan, is the firm favourite. He's the current holder of the belt and he's never lost a fight. Image source, Getty Images. Who is he? Is he any good? What's he said? He knocked out Valdez in seven rounds. Cruz said that he was aware, before he came out, of the history that he would be fighting.
He knew the story of Emile Griffith, the world welterweight and middleweight champion who kept his sexuality from the press, only to unburden himself at the age of sixty-seven, when he revealed that he was bisexual. Griffith is probably best known for his fight against the Cuban welterweight Benny Paret: after enduring anti-gay slurs from Paret at the weigh-in before the fight, he unleashed his fury in the ring, knocking Paret unconscious.
Paret died ten days later. The tragedy haunted Griffith for the rest of his life.
0コメント