Virulent Homophobe Manny Pacquiao Loses World Title Fight

Boxing champion and unrepentant homophobe Manny Pacquiao was long-favored to trounce opponent Jeff Horn in the World Boxing Organization title fight being dubbed the Battle of Brisbane, but the 38-year-old welterweight from the Philippines lost when three judges awarded the fight to his opponent, the Associated Press reported.

Pacquiao, a devout Catholic, who was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 2000s, has a storied history of making anti-LGBT statements that is about as long as his decorated boxing career. Responding to President Barack Obama's support for marriage equality in 2012 Pacquiao likened marriage between same-sex couples to Sodom and Gomorrah.

From there, Pacquiao only amped up his vitriol and homophobia. In 2016 he said that same-sex couples were "worse than animals."

"Woman was made for man, man was made for woman. It's common sense. Will you see any animals where male is to male and female is to female? The animals are better. They know how to distinguish, male or female," the 10-time world title winner said. "If we approve male on male, female on female, then man is worse than animal."

But that wasn't the last of his hateful statements. After losing his Nike endorsement deal for comparing queer people to animals, he doubled down on his homophobia and suggested in an Instagram post that LGBT people should be put to death.

"If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death, their blood will be on their own heads," Pacquiao posted, quoting Leviticus 20.13.

For those who think Pacquiao's boxing career should remain separate from his deeply anti-LGBT ideology, he won a Philippine Senate seat in May of 2016, so his opinions could influence policy in very real ways.

A co-promoter of the Battle of Brisbane, Bob Arum, suggested after the fight that Pacquiao could retire from the sport and concentrate on his political career.

"I don't know Manny's future position. Is he going to stay in politics and not continue in boxing? I don't know, and he doesn't know," Arum said. "It's unfair to ask him now," Arum said, according to AP.