Manny Pacquiao is speaking out against an opponent with an even longer reach than Floyd Mayweather Jr. In an interview with the National Conservative Examiner, the boxing champion -- who is also a politician in the Philippines -- criticized President Barack Obama's stance on same-sex marriage, going as far to evoke the Old Testament cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
"God only expects man and woman to be together and to be legally married, only if they so are in love with each other," Pacquiao told The Examiner. "It should not be of the same sex so as to adulterate the altar of matrimony, like in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah of Old."
These statements come several months after Sports Illustrated reported that Pacquiao had "publicly recommitted himself to Christianity" ahead of his upcoming fight with Timothy Bradley.
The 33-year-old Pacquiao hasn't shied away from voicing his religious views lately. Pacquiao also told a radio station back in March that he had a dream in which God told him to retire soon. His latest remarks come shortly after Obama declared his support for gay marriage last week in an interview with ABC at the White House.
Pacquiao, a congressman in the Philippines, has jumped into the world of U.S. politics before.
Days before defeating Antonio Margarito in November of 2010, Pacquiao campaigned for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and California Governor Jerry Brown in Las Vegas. He even told the Los Angeles Times that he helped them win their elections.
Pacquiao met Obama when he visited the White House as one of Reid's guests in February of last year. According to the Associated Press, Reid said he felt compelled to introduce Pacquaio to Obama due to the boxer's enthusiastic following in the U.S.
A few months after his visit, Pacquiao opposed a bill in the Philippines that would mandate government support for contraceptives and family planning advice.