MANILA — Boxing champ Manny Pacquiao will return home this week to a hero's welcome but his next challenge may see him go down for the count as he steps into the even more bruising ring of Philippine politics.
Pacquiao's latest victory has earned the superstar even more acclaim and wealth, but analysts warn that adulation and big spending may not convert to votes when he runs for a seat in Congress in May national elections.
"It will be a harder battle than all the battles he has waged in the ring," said political science professor Ronald Holmes of Manila's De La Salle University.
