20 November 2013 - Manny Pacquiao arrived in Macau via a chartered Philippine Airlines flight from General Santos City at 7:10 in the evening, Monday, November 18. With him in the flight were his wife Jinky, his mother Dionisia, his American trainor Freddie Roach, China’s twice Olympics gold medalist Zou Shimming, other Chinese boxers, and a host of Philippine and foreign media representatives.

Consul General Danilo Ibayan, Acting Labor Attaché Ramon Lamberto Pastrana, Protocol Officer Oscar Longcanaya, and Macau Government Protocol Officer Ivo Chin welcomed Congressman Pacquiao and his party at the Macau Airport VIP Exit Hallway.

Pacquiao’s 12-round welterweight fight with former Lightweight champion Brandon Rios of the United States will take place at the Cotai Arena of Macau’s famed The Venetian on Sunday, 24 November. The Pacquiao-Rios boxing bout is heavily advertised in Macau and nearby Hong Kong, with Macau newspapers and magazines carrying ads in most issues of the forthcoming boxing clash and billboards in the major roads of Macau inviting passers-by to watch the fight at the Cotai Arena. There were also many articles in local dailies and magazines and promotional advertisements in radio and television. Due to the intense media exposure of the Pacquiao-Rios bout, boxing as a sport is gaining popularity among the people of Macau and the Chinese in the Mainland.

Pacquiao and his party are scheduled to return to the Philippines the following day after the fight, on 25 November, through another Philippine Airlines chartered flight Macau-General Santos City.  END