Heading into his WBO welterweight title defense against Timothy Bradley on Saturday night, Manny Pacquiao is the subject of a feature article in this week's issue of Sports Illustrated.

The article by Chris Mannix paints a picture of a man who has turned his life around through religion, who has stopped cheating on his wife, gambling large sums of money and drinking heavily. According to trainer Freddie Roach, though, Pacquiao has maintained his intensity killer instinct in the ring, despite the greater peace he's found outside of it.

What wasn't mentioned, however, was the controversy that erupted last month when it was erroneously reported that Pacquiao had quoted in an interview a verse from the book of Leviticus that calls for gays to be "put to death."

The Bible quote had been added for context by the reviewer, but that wasn't immediately clear. As a result, Pacquiao was barred from the Grove, where he was scheduled for an interview by Mario Lopez on Extra. In addition, an online petition campaign began for Nike to drop its sponsorship of the champion. That effort fell by the wayside when the situation was explained by interviewer Granville Ampong - and Grove developer Rick Caruso lifted the ban - but it was unclear how much lasting damage was done to Pacquiao's image, and how it would affect his career going forward.

The answer, apparently, is "not much." Pacquiao still stands to be the crowd favorite Saturday, and the only protests of note have been among Christians in Pacquiao's native Philippines, who rallied against the sport's popularity there and the "culture of death" that it represents.

Whether Pacquiao will ever have his long-awaited superfight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. remains to be seen, and may depend on whether he can win his fight with the undefeated Bradley on Saturday night. For now, though, it seems like he has triumphed over any image concerns that may have resulted from last month's interview.