Pacquiao publicist enters Hall

Fred Sternburg, the Denver-based former publicist of Manny Pacquiao, made it to the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Falling under the Non-Participants category, Sternburg will be honored during the four-day festivities from 6 to 9 June in Canastota, New York.

Sternburg was Pacquiao's PR for over a decade until the Filipino southpaw's retirement in 2021.

"I am stunned. Working in boxing has been such great fun. I have had the good fortune to work with some very remarkable people, including world champions and contenders, promoters, managers, and television executives, trainers and fellow public relations practitioners, all who were generous with their time and taught me so much. Inside the International Boxing Hall of Fame, there are plaques dedicated to boxing legends of all generations. It is a privilege to join them," said Sternburg, who came to Manila during a Pacquiao press tour in 2012.

Other Pacquiao people who have been inducted include trainer Freddie Roach (inducted 2012) and Top Rank chief Bob Arum (1999).

Pacquiao, a shoo-in for inclusion, has yet to be inducted but will be eligible in 2024 or three years after his last professional fight.

In the event Pacquiao gets nominated, he is expected to be chosen and join the two other Filipinos who had already been inducted: Pancho Villa and Flash Elorde.

Villa got his induction (posthumously) in 1994 while Elorde became the first Asian to be inducted — posthumously as well — in 1993.