Footage of rapper Drake’s impersonation of Filipino boxer-turned senator Manny Pacquiao from back in 2014 has recently resurfaced on social media.
Much has changed in the two figures’ respective careers since the parody first became a hit.
Pacquiao lets it all go
The video, part of an intermission number during the 2014 Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award ceremony has received over 1.4 million views since it was posted last Sunday.
Complete with Pacquiao’s signature beard and apparel, Drake puts on an emphatic performance while doing a rendition of the song “Let it Go” from the animated music “Frozen.”
In the skit, Drake/Pacquiao also brushes off questions about the upcoming bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., a match which Pacquiao would go on to lose.
Drake’s performance was a reference to Pacquiao’s short-lived singing career, one of his first ventures outside of boxing before he shifted his attention to politics.
Filipinos so far have been appreciative of Drake’s nod to the boxing great.
Super lafftrip si Drake and his Manny Pacquiao impersonation ?????
— Rhia del Rosario (@rhiadelrosario) August 9, 2018
Pacquiao himself was recorded to have simply chuckled at the impersonation.
Four years since
Both Drake and Pacquiao have surged in their respective careers since then.
Drake has now become one of the most recognizable faces in hip-hop. He has released four albums since 2014, all of which were massive hits: “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late,” “Views,” “More Life” and “Scorpion.”
Despite losing the highly-awaited bout with Mayweather Jr., Pacquiao would still win three of his four matches later.
He was also elected as Senator of the Philippines since 2016, the highest position he has held since entering politics in 2010.
He was also drafted eleventh overall by team Kia Picanto in the 2014 PBA draft, but has not played more than ten games and averages less than one point.
Pacquiao also now holds the WBA Welterweight title after he won his first stoppage victory since 2009 at the expense of Argentinian Lucas Mathysse in July 2018.
