MANILA, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao braces for the biggest fight of his life on May 3 opposite American Floyd Mayweather but the Champions of the East and West wouldn’t even be meeting each other inside the ring if not for their respective uncles.
Pacquiao acknowledges that if not for his uncle Sardo Dapidran, he would not be where he is now. Mayweather, on the other hand, has his uncle Roger as his trainer and coach whenever he steps on the ring, for his father was not there for him in his formative years.
“Sardo was the one who really brought Manny to boxing. He idolized the greats like Muhammad Ali,” according to Buboy Villar, who plays the young Manny Pacquiao in the film “Kid Kulafu” when asked about Sardo (Cesar Montano).
Just a few weeks before the much-anticipated match, ABS-CBN, Star Cinema and Ten17 Productions present “Kid Kulafu,” a film directed by Paul Soriano that documents the early years of Pacquiao as a struggling amateur and pro boxer and how he tried to make ends meet as a teenager and of the man who got him into the sport.
Pacquiao almost never happened. The scrawny kid from Kibawe, Bukidnon stood no chance against the obstacles life threw at him, until he started punching down banana trees, thanks to the goading of his uncle.
And that’s where Rod Nazario stepped in.
The late boxing patron was convinced the kid from the south has what it takes to be the next boxing superstar next to Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, Luisito “Lindol” Espinosa and Pancho Villa.
He had no idea that the rail-thin Pacquiao would transcend to an eight-division world titlist.
”There’s a lot that we don’t know about Manny Pacquiao, even if people thought they know him already. I even asked Direk Paul if what we’re doing really happened and he said yes. They will see it in ‘Kid Kulafu,’” Villar said.
“Kid Kulafu” opens in cinemas on April 15.