MANILA - Mrs Dionesia Pacquiao, the mother of eight-division boxing world champion Manny Pacquiao, has denied talks that she went under the knife, reason that she looks much younger these days.

In an exchange of banter with reporters on Sunday, she said she abhors cosmetic surgery, as this might hinder her chances of going to heaven. “St Peter might refuse me entry as ‘Dionesia’ looked different.”

Mrs. Pacquiao, popularly known as Mummy Dionesia, has become the darling of the press over the boxer’s wife, Jinkee. She is very religious and being regarded as some sort of a stage-mother to Pacquiao, also known as PacMan for the way he dominated most of his opponents.

It was Mummy Dionesia, also known as PacMum, who on record castigated Pacquiao for not wearing a rosary when he lost to Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas, Nevada last December 8. She blamed his newfound religion, which, she said, made him lost some precious sleep over bible studies.

Pacquaio, who used to be a devout Roman Catholic, being seen making the sign of the cross and praying in his corner before a match, had left the church and became a born-again Christian.

Members of the press and other followers of Pacquiao and his media-savvy mother have suspected that PacMum has undergone a series of cosmetic surgeries, based on her younger-looking skin.

She denied such observations again, saying that her secret to looking younger than her age is prayers.