ANOTHER NBA star and champion player took time to meet in person Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao.
Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics went out of his way to personally visit the 46-year-old ring icon in the latter's lavish mansion in Forbes Park, Makati.
The 6-foot-6 wingman, who was the Finals MVP when the Celtics won their record 18th championship in 2024, is currently in the country for his Asian Tour 2025.
Brown went to see Pacquiao on Tuesday night, as the two were seen doing a staredown and a boxing pose in a video sent by Team Pacquiao to SPIN.ph.
The 28-year-old Brown later expressed his desire to train with the eight-division world champion after being told the oldest fighter to win the welterweight title at age 40 would usually do abs exercises non-stop for half an hour.
READ: Pacquiao, Barrios on same page for possible future rematch
Pacquiao then showed his well-chiseled abs that remain in perfect form just three weeks after coming out of retirement to challenge World Boxing Council welterweight title holder Mario Barrios in a fight that ended in a majority draw.
“Maybe one day, maybe the next time I come back, I want to train (with you),” Brown told Pacquiao.
Brown added the similarity between basketball and boxing, especially in terms of footwork. 'Pacman' then replied that he plays basketball to help him improve his footwork, while showing the four-time NBA All-Star exactly how he does it.
“That’s great,” said Brown after being shown by Pacquiao his patented foot speed.
A match not in boxing nor basketball
The two sports stars then briefly played the game of chess, with the comebacking boxer bragging he regularly plays against the country’s top grandmasters.
Before calling it a night, Pacquiao and Brown exchanged signed souvenirs as tokens for their newfound friendship. The boxing icon received autographed playing shoes from the Celtics star, while Brown got his own signed gloves from Pacquiao.
Brown is just the latest NBA and basketball celebrity who showed up at the Pacquiao mansion.
Previous visitors included Karl-Anthony Towns, Klay Thompson, Dwight Howard, Andray Blatche, and Italian men’s basketball team head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco.
Incidentally, Pacquiao and his family just came back from a short vacation in Italy following the fight against Barrios.
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