Pacquiao wears ‘Pacman’ Pony shoes in the ring

SANTA BARBARA, California–Pony International yesterday announced that Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao will wear a custom-made Pony "Pac Man" boxing shoe in his blockbuster showdown against Erik "El Terrible" Morales at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada this morning.

The super featherweight world title fight will be telecast worldwide and will see the Philippine boxing superstar wear Pony in the ring and endorse the brand’s footwear in future bouts.

For this weekend’s showdown, Pony rushed several different versions of his boxing shoe from its factory to test the shoes for comfort and fit during Pacquiao’s sparring sessions.

Pacquiao, who has had shoe problems in the past and is known for his quick side-to-side movement, selected the Center Ring Middleweight with soft full-grain leather upper as his fight night shoe in his preferred white and red colorway. Imprinted on the left and right sides of his high-cut shoes is his "Pac Man" monicker.

Pacquiao also wore Pony during his December fight, a fourth-round TKO against Fahsan 3K Battery. He rose to prominence by shocking the boxing world with his victory over Marco Barrera and was the super bantamweight world champion for three years until 2004 before moving to featherweight.

"Pound-for-pound, Manny is one of the best boxers in the world without a doubt," said Killick Datta, chief executive officer of Global Brand Marketing, Inc., the majority owner of Pony International. "His popularity in Asia and the immense respect he has earned within the boxing establishment for his skill and ferocity in the ring makes him a natural fit with Pony and our boxing tradition."

"I am thrilled to be working with Pony and to continue the Pony tradition in boxing," said Pacquiao. "Together we are going to be champions!"

While the amount of the endorsement remains undisclosed by the huge US-based company, Pacquiao’s deal with Pony excludes the handsome $1.75 million he is receiving from his fight purse versus Mexican Morales this morning and his share in the pay-per-view telecast of HBO that could go as much as $4 million.

But what makes the international endorsement even more significant is the fact that Pacquiao is now lined side-by-side with legendary boxers who have worn Pony while fighting on the ring.

The elite cast of Pony endorsers includes boxing heroes Evander Holyfield, Larry Holmes, James "Lights Out" Toney, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, and Ken Norton.

Pony was founded in 1972 and quickly became one of the athletic brands of influence in the world. Pony always had the distinctive position of having a great logo, unique styling and edgy reputation.

Pony’s various shoe philosophy inspirations include Pony.style, a sports-influenced, modern and sophisticated lifestyle; Pony.move, technical performance sets for modern definitions of sports; and there’s Pony.archive, a collection with a sense of history of the brand’s designs, derived from the brand’s original footwear from the 70s to the 80s.

In the Philippines, authentic Pony Footwear is available at Toby’s SM North EDSA Annex and Glorietta, Royal Sporting House in Glorietta and Robinson’s Ermita, The Shoe Shop at the Powerplant, Rockwell, Olympic Worlds Alabang Town Center and SM North Edsa, The Plaza Fair in Makati, Baguio and Cagayan de Oro; Estilo, Baguio City and Stateside, Cabanatuan City and in Robinsons Department Stores and SM Department Stores nationwide.