It's a Dad-Eat-Dog World for Boxer

World Champion's father ate his dog in a drunken rage, prompted career

Just when it seems Eugene Marve might be a lock for Bad Sports Dad of the Year, news of multi-titled boxer Manny Pacquiao's troubled childhood comes to light.  Exactly how bad was it for Pacquiao growing up poor in the Philipines?  When he was 14, his drunken father killed, fried, and ate his son's pet dog in front of him in a rage. "Manny saw his dad eat his dog," trainer Freddie Roach told USA Today, "and that is why he ran away from home and became a boxer."

Uh, yeah, that would pretty much do it for most people, we reckon. The young Pacquiao fled his terrible parent, snuck aboard a ship bound for Manila, and slept in a cardboard box on the streets. He bought donuts for a penny and sold them for a nickel until he found himself and his purpose in a boxing gym. 

Now the world's best pound-for-pound fighter, with five world titles in four weight divisions -- and having just vanquished Oscar De La Hoya in a fight billed as "The Dream Match" -- Pacquiao is in Los Angeles training for a May 2 fight against British pugilist Ricky Hatton for the world light welterweight title. Not to mention he is the 40th richest man in the Philipines, an aspiring politician, and a married father of four. It isn't too shabby for a kid whose father gnawed the very bones of his little boy's best friend while the kid looked on in horror.

Oh, and the dog? Tasted like chicken, but a little ruff tough.

Janie Campbell is a Florida native who would consider eating a cat but not a dog, and only because she's allergic. Her work has appeared in irreverent sports sites around the internet.

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