What the Pac? Pacquiao to appear nude on ESPN The Magazine?

Yes Manny Pacquiao is on the list of athletes to appear on ESPN The Magazine's The Body issue that will hit the stands next week. Actually he's the only boxer to be included in the list.



Here's a list of the athletes who will be posing in their birthday suits or partially clothed as published by Michael McCarthy of USA Today:



•Tennis: Serena Williams, James Blake

•NFL: Adrian Peterson, Casey Hampton, Torry Holt

•NBA/WNBA: Dwight Howard, Cappie Pondexter

•Major League Baseball: Nelson Cruz, Joba Chamberlain and Ivan Rodriguez

•NHL: Zdeno Chara, Chris Higgins, Sheldon Souray, Bill Guerin, Mike Komisarek

•NASCAR: Carl Edwards, Mark Martin

•Olympics: Jessica Mendoza, Susan Francia, Shawn Johnson, Allison Baver, Johnny Weir, Cheryl Haworth

•Boxing: Manny Pacquiao

•LPGA: Christina Kim, Sandra Gal, Anna Grzebien

•Mixed martial arts: Gina Carano, Randy Couture

•Surfing: Claire Bevilacqua; Laird Hamilton

•Soccer: Natasha Kai, Chris Pontius, Bryan Namoff, Clyde Simms

•Skiing: Kristi Leskinen, Julia Mancuso

•Track and field: Lolo Jones, Michelle Carter

•Horse racing: Alexis Solis.



At first I was like, "no way", that is simply too risque` for Pacquiao from what I know of him. (And in an effort to "one-up" Pacquiao, Money just signed to do a shoot with Playgirl magazine- I'm kidding.) But after further research on the endeavor I discovered that there's no need to worry Pacquiao fans. The shoot and the pictures will not reveal anything more than what Pacquiao has already shown in boxing as all photos were artistically taken covering the sensitive parts of the body with either clothing or equipments from their sport or through angles and poses.



This is ESPN The Magazine's answer to Sports Illustrated's highly popular Swimsuit Edition. Athletes definitely have some of the finest bodies in the planet naturally because of how they train and stay in shape for them to be able to compete at the highest level. Some of the popular athletes that have posed in the buff before are former WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson, Olympic Multi-Gold medalist Michael Phelps fellow Olympic swimmer Alana Beard to name a few.



The feature marks another milestone in Pacquiao ever-soaring popularity. I guess I've been too focused on Pacquiao's boxing career that I've failed to realize that he has also become a worldwide sex symbol. If you ask me what piques my interest regarding this magazine endeavor by ESPN, I got two simple words for you. Gina Carano.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-10947-Indianapolis-Fight-Sports-Examiner~y2009m10d2-What-the-Pac-Pacquiao-to-appear-nude-on-ESPN-The-Magazine