WATCH: Anti-gay remarks lead to loss of Nike endorsement for boxer Manny Pacquiao

During an interview with Filipino television station, Manny Pacquiao reportedly said same-sex couples are worse than animals: "Have you seen any animal having male-to-male or female-to-female relations? If you have male-to-male or female-to-female [relationships], then people are worse than animals."

The Daily Mail UK notes how his comment received a lot of criticism, and led to Nike going as far as removing any mention of him on their website. 

Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum reportedly said that he would have done what Nike did as Pacquiao's comment was insulting to many: "Nike is in the business of selling its products to as wide of an audience as they can and Manny's comments were insulting to a lot of people. His comments were made to a Filipino audience, where same-sex marriage is not as accepted as it is here and Manny is a convert of enlightened Christianity, which does not believe in same-sex relationships. But to people in the United States, his words can only be viewed as hate speech. If I was running Nike, I would have to make the same decision they did."

Just hours after Nike ended its partnership with the world champion, he took to Twitter to apologise for hurting anyone, but said he stood by his beliefs that same-sex marriage is wrong: "I'm sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals. Please forgive me for those I've hurt. I still stand on my belief that I'm against same sex marriage because of what the Bible says, but I'm not condemning LGBT. I love you all with the love of the Lord. God Bless you all and I'm praying for you."

Pacquiao had also reportedly posted an anti-gay bible verse on his Instagram account, but soon deleted it. The verse quoted was allegedly Leviticus 20 verse 13 which states: "Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable...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."

Not too long ago, Pacquiao was the contender in the most expensive boxing fight in history when he went head-to-head against unbeated world champ Floyd Mayweather. The fight pulled in an estimated $500 million in revenue. 

Pacquiao is not the only boxer who has had to apologise for offending people with anti-gay remarks. In 2015, British world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury was also criticised following comments he made against homosexuals. He, like Pacquiao, said his beliefs were based on the Bible.

WATCH: the current furore in the sports world - Manny Pacquiao's anti-gay comments lose him a lucrative Nike deal