While Manny Pacquiao will be handsomely remunerated with $5m (about R75m) for his efforts against WBA “Super” welterweight defending champion Yordenis Ugas at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday — self-exiled South African Chris van Heerden is just excited to have ran alongside the 42-year-old Filipino during his preparations. 

Van Heerden, 34, is a former IBO title holder from Meyerton, south of Johannesburg, who has been living in the US since 2013. He posted a very strange, if not confusing, message six days ago on social media during a jog with the Filipino icon which read: “Once a boy from Meyerton ZA now a man in America living his childhood dreams.” ..