PHOTO: Manny Pacquiao posts Bible verse saying gay men should be put to death

Under-fire boxing great Manny Pacquiao briefly posted  on social media a Bible verse which says gay men should be put to death.

In a post on his Instagram account, which was subsequently deleted, Pacquiao posted a picture of himself with his wife, and quoted a Bible verse from Leviticus: "If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."

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The New York Times reported the post, again drawing widespread condemnation and fanning outrage after Pacquiao's earlier comments criticising gay people during an interview with TV5, a Philippine network, which was shared widely online.

The controversial post came less than a day after sports giant Nike terminated its relationship with the multiple world champion who is campaigning for the senate in his native Philippines.

For all the criticism over his anti-gay comment and the loss of the lucrative endorsement deal, Pacquiao still looks set to win election to the country's senate in May, according to political analysts.

And he maintained his stance on same-sex marriage, saying he's happy "a lot of people were alarmed by the truth".

He had earlier apologised for hurting people's feelings after saying same-sex couples were "worse than animals".

"I am not condemning the LGBT," Pacquiao said on Friday (NZ time) 

"What I am condemning is the act. I'm happier because I'm telling the truth ... It's worse if we will hide the truth. I'm happier that a lot of people were alarmed by the truth," Pacquiao said.

Pacquaio also said he respected Nike's decision to sever ties with him.

Nike said it will no longer have any business dealings with the Filipino boxing champion, adding that it found his comments "abhorrent".

"Whatever decision Nike makes is its decision and I respect that and its sponsorship of me now only involves my clothes for my fight," Pacquiao told reporters during a break in his training for an April 9 bout with Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas.

"Our contract has already ended aside from sponsoring the boxing," he said.

Trouble for Pacquiao began when the 37-year-old Christian was asked by a local TV network as a senate candidate about his views on same-sex marriages.

His reply: "Have you seen any animal having male-to-male or female-to-female relations?"

Animals, he said, were better because they recognise gender differences, and "if you have male-to-male or female-to-female (relationships), then people are worse than animals".

Among those who reacted strongly were popular gay celebrities in the country, some of whom declared they have lost their adulation for him.

But voters in the mostly Catholic Philippines appear unready to abandon support for the country's biggest sporting hero, who is running for one of 12 vacant senatorial seats up for grabs in the May 9 election. Analysts reckoned the controversy has caused limited damage to his campaign.

"Pacquiao has clearly offended the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community with his comments on same sex marriage, but this group represents a minority and this will not affect the boxer's popularity among the voters," Benito Lim, a political science professor at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University, said. "He may still win in the elections."