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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JANUARY 19: Manny Pacquiao in the ring during the WBA welterweight championship against Adrien Broner at MGM Grand Garden Arena on January 19, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JANUARY 19: Manny Pacquiao in the ring during the WBA welterweight championship against Adrien Broner at MGM Grand Garden Arena on January 19, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Impersonations have always been a strong suit in the world of comedy. Especially after the Muhammad Ali era, the comedians and actors started impersonating boxers to get some sort of laughter from the audience. From Billy Crystal‘s famous mimicry of Muhammad Ali to Jamie Foxx‘s impression of Mike Tyson, this genre has always been taken in great stride by the boxers. Similarly, back in 2014 at the ESPYs, Drake impersonated Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao for the sake of comedy.
Even Pacquiao thought it to be a hilarious attempt of Drake to do this. He said, “I just laughed. That’s just one of the things he does to earn money.” So, due to his calm and composed nature, PacMan took no offense to him being used for entertainment. The video of Drake’s hilarious skit has resurfaced again and garnered the attention of boxing fans.
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Fans are amused by Drake impersonating Manny Pacquiao
The Canadian rapper Drake perfectly imitated Manny Pacquiao 9 years ago. He even donned a similar haircut and beard to portray the complete look. He said, “Sometimes people only want Manny Pacquiao to fight. All the time, I can’t fight for the rest of my life you know. I have to do different things that make me happy. So, I like to sing.” He even sang the ‘Let It Go’ song from Frozen in Pacquiao’s voice. The fans couldn’t help but love it.
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One of the fans mentioned how they were Filipino themselves, but they’re not at all offended by Drake’s mimicry.
Another fan pointed out how Drake as an actor is greatly talented. They wrote, “Drake started out as an actor. He’s just talented.”
One fan made a joke that Manny Pacquiao would put him back in the wheelchair from his famous TV series, ‘Degrassi’. They wrote, “Manny gonna put Drake back in that wheelchair for this.”
A fan found it funny that they used Pacquiao’s character for entertainment. They wrote, “Lolol why did they do manny like that.”
An Instagram user commended Drake for doing a good Filipino accent. They wrote, “He legit landed that Filipino accent so damn well!”
The fans didn’t take it too seriously as everybody understood the intent was not bad behind doing such a thing. After Drake, even SNL took their chance at impersonating Pacquiao.
Aidy Bryant becomes the parody PacMan
In 2015, the biggest boxing event in the history of the sport happened. The fight titled ‘The Fight of the Century’ was the most talked about event during that time. So it wasn’t a surprise when ‘Saturday Night Live’ also directed their attention to it. Hence, they planned a comedy sketch around the fight and made a parody boxing event.
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Read More: 14 Years Back, $2,170,000 LA Mansion Deal Knocks Out Manny Pacquiao in Real Estate Ring In 2023
So, the comedians even dressed up as Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao to keep it authentic. In the sketch, the character of Floyd Mayweather was played by Jay Pharoah, while Manny Pacquiao was played by the famous female comedian Aidy Bryant. They tried to showcase the premonition of the fight using slapstick comedy and even predicted the fight to go in the favor of Manny Pacquiao.
However, the actual results differed, as Floyd Mayweather was deemed the winner of the fight. So there have many instances when comedians have chosen boxers to be the premise for their joke, and it’s always been taken in great stride.
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What are your thoughts about these impersonations? Let us know in the comments section.
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