Proud moment for Batista

LAS VEGAS – It took over two years for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar Batista to meet Manny Pacquiao and marching with the Filipino icon to the ring for the Ricky Hatton fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena here Saturday night was “a dream come true.”

Batista said he was invited to attend a Filipino celebration, called the Visionary Awards, at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles a few years ago and thought he would meet Pacquiao. Several Filipino artists, like Martin Nievera and Dolphy, showed up but Pacquiao couldn’t come because of his training schedule and Batista was disappointed.

When he was contacted to join Pacquiao’s marching entourage, Batista was ecstatic. He initially thought he would hold up the Philippine flag or one of Pacquiao’s championship belts. But when told he would simply march alongside Pacquiao, Batista said just to be close to the world’s pound-for-pound boxing king was like being on Cloud Nine.

“It’s a big deal for me,” said Batista whose father David Bautista is Filipino and mother Donna Raye, Greek. “I’m proud of my roots. My two daughters from my first wife, who’s 100 percent Filipina, have gone home more than me. When I visited in 2006, I couldn’t believe so many fans knew me. I didn’t realize I had so many Filipino relatives from my wife’s and my side of the family. I didn’t expect such a warm welcome. I was mobbed everywhere. I was overwhelmed.”

Batista was in Pacquiao’s dressing room shortly after Hatton was knocked out and joined in the celebration. “Manny’s unbelievable,” said Batista. “He makes you really proud to be Filipino. I’d heard about Manny long ago from a friend, Amani Lee, a pro fighter who used to train with Freddie Roach and he told me Manny’s such a hard worker in the gym, that he works his ass off. That’s the kind of guy he is and that’s why he succeeds.”

Batista said he was asked to join Pacquiao’s marching entourage for a fight some years back but couldn’t do it because of a WWE tour in Iraq for US troops.

Batista and Pacquiao have a lot in common. They were both raised in abject poverty and worked their way to fame and fortune. Today, they’re both larger than life.

“Personally, what drives me is a feeling of desperation because I was once homeless and hungry,” said Batista who turned pro in 1997 and has overcome asthma, injuries and a slew of repair surgeries to become one of the world’s most revered wrestlers ever. “It terrifies me to be homeless and hungry again. When I was a kid, my mother used to cry because she couldn’t give us, her children, food and a decent home. I never want my kids to ever be homeless and hungry.”

Batista said the one thing he admires most about Pacquiao is his big, fighting heart.

“He’s the type who leaves it all in the ring,” continued Batista. “There’s no quit in his mind. He has a passion to succeed, a passion that comes from once being exposed to desperation. It’s a passion where your spirit never breaks.”

Batista said throughout his life and career, he has always worn and will forever wear his heart on his sleeve.

“I earned everything I have and I strived to achieve it,” he went on. “Being successful in life is not making a lot of money. When I was young, I was desensitized seeing people die before my eyes. But I learned to be compassionate. My Filipino upbringing had a lot to do with it. The biggest perk in what I do is to be able to make a difference in people’s lives, especially the children.”

Batista said he loves children and will do anything to relieve sick kids.

“I’m just a regular, average guy,” he said. “I’m really an introvert. I don’t understand what people see in me. But I believe it’s a gift from God that I’m able to put a smile on a kid’s face or give a dying kid a moment of happiness with a visit.”

Batista said it was his idea to tattoo the Philippine flag over the Greek flag on his left biceps.

“People were wondering what I am and I’m proud to be what I am so I thought of putting the Philippine flag over the Greek flag on my biceps,” said Batista. “I talked to a tattoo artist about it. The design was mine. It was the best statement to make of what I am. Everyone should be proud of who they are. People shouldn’t be ashamed if they came from nothing. I came from nothing and I’m proud of where I came from.”

In his storybook wrestling career, Batista said teaming with Ric (Nature Boy) Flair was a highlight. He won two world tag team titles with Flair and one apiece with Rey Mysterio and John Cena.

“Ric is a legend and an icon,” said Batista, the 2005 Royal Rumble winner. “Over 20 years from now, fans will still be talking about Ric and that’s how I’d like to be remembered. I started late in wrestling when I was in my 30s and I’m hoping to enjoy a long career just like Ric.”

As for his most bitter rival, Batista said his feud with The Undertaker was the most memorable. He has also feuded with Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton but The Undertaker was his fiercest opponent.

Batista was recently in Manila to promote the WWE “Smackdown” tour at the Araneta Coliseum on July 10. Although he is on the WWE “Raw” roster, Batista said there’s a possibility he may appear in the show.

“We’re working on it,” he said. “I hope the fans e-mail and write the WWE office in Stamford, Connecticut, to include me in the Manila tour. I’d love to go back because the Filipino fans are special and it’ll be another homecoming for me.”