Pacquiao Inks Deal With Nike

The international appeal of Manny Pacquiao continues

Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao has just signed a deal to endorse sports-related products for the Fortune 500 giant Nike.

Pacquiao flew to Manila last weekend, according to Manila Bulletin Online, to do the first in a series of photo shoots with the Oregon-based multinational, before he headed to General Santos City.

When Pac-Man gets it on with Erik “El Terrible� Morales in their long anticipated rubber match at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas on Nov. 18, his robe, trunks and boxing shoes will be adorned with the familiar Nike swoosh.

The precise amount Manny is to receive from Nike has not yet been divulged, but, said a member of Pacquiao’s inner circle, “Everybody happy.”

In the old days, Manny wore Pony shoes, but when he faced Oscar Larios at the Araneta Coliseum in July, he was wearing the Japanese label Mizuno.

But those also-ran brands no longer made the grade following Pac’s tenth round KO over Morales in January, when his supremacy in boxing was finally universally recognized.

In addition to his new contract with Nike, the 27-year-old Pacquiao still has ongoing deals with McDonald’s, Motolite, San Miguel Company, Alaxan, Datu Puti and Extreme Magic Sing.

For those fight fans who defied the odds and have thus far remained swoosh-less, all that is liable to change.