Martin Nievera turned ecstatic at the mention of his upcoming singing stint in the Manny Pacquiao versus Ricky Hatton bout in Las Vegas on May 3.
He told the press, "I'll be there at the fight. In case Manny Pacquiao is too tired, I'll be the one to knock out [Ricky] Hatton. I've been asked by Manny himself to sing the national anthem. I'm so proud to have been accepted and have been chosen to sing our Philippine national anthem."
Martin said he considers this opportunity as the biggest event in his singing career. He felt so honored that he kept humming "Lupang Hinirang" during the interview.
"I've been practicing it every day, every night," he related. "I'm still deciding whether I'll sing it a cappella or use minus one. I don't know which one is better. But the most important thing is probably the biggest one in my career, 26 years in the business and only now I get to sing the national anthem. So, I'm very scared, very excited, and very scared."
The Concert King was aware that international diva Lea Salonga also offered to sing the national anthem, it was just that Pacman had long promised Martin that he would ask him to render the Pambansang Awit.
"I asked that," he said. "The truth of the matter is, Leah offered the services, Manny had already asked me. But in fairness to Leah, she should have been the one. You know, I wish I'd sing it after her so, you know, we don't break the tradition of having a girl sing it. Although Manny doesn't believe in that kind of superstition, I don't. I definitely don't believe in that kind of superstition. If you're a good fighter, it doesn't matter who sings the song, right?"
He said that it wouldn't also be a problem if Manny had chosen Lea over him.
"Manny said to me, his exact words were, Manny, 'I want to keep my word with you. I promised you to sing it and I want you to sing it.' And I said, 'Manny, are you sure?' I won't feel bad. In fact, whoever you choose, whether it's Leah or any other girl, I wanna help her. The ideas that I wanted to use, gusto kong ibigay sa kung sino ang pinili ni Manny. But Manny said, 'No, no, no. I want a man to sing it this time. And I want Martin Nievera,'" he related.
In the end, Martin was asked if he could possibly be Manny's lucky charm.
He replied, "A boxer doesn't need luck. He needs the training, the dedication, the passion to the sports. But more importantly, knowing that the Philippines is on his back, Manny is going to win for all those reasons.
"My role is very, very small, although in my career it's very, very big because I feel that the national anthem is actually the round one. And I have to get the first punch with a great performance sana, great delivery, great interpretation, of the 'Lupang Hinirang.'"