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JUST how
prepared is Manny Pacquiao for his upcoming fight this
Sunday?
Pacquiao’s bosom buddy and current world bantamweight
champion Gerry Peñalosa said the Filipino boxing idol is
not only ready for this weekend’s fight, but is also
raring to make a reverberating statement this year.
Pacquiao,
29, will vie for the World Boxing Council (WBC)
super-featherweight crown against defending champion
Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico on March 16 at the
Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. Also at stake is the
prestigious Ring Magazine 130-lb championship belt.
“Handang-handa
na siya hindi lang against Marquez. Sabi niya
mangongolekta siya ng belts ngayong taon,”
said Peñalosa. “Sa nakita ko, mukhang bumalik na
’yung focus ni Manny sa career niya.”
Peñalosa
is currently staying at the Mandalay Bay to lend his
support to Pacquiao, whose friendship started long
before the General Santos City bomber even became a
world flyweight champion.
“Aminado
naman siya na hindi siya 100 percent sa huling
laban niya kaya ngayon, sa tingin ko, nakatulong
’yun ng malaki para bumalik ’yung focus niya sa
training,” said Peñalosa, who once served as sparring
partner to Pacquiao.
In a
separate interview, Pacquiao said he didn’t have the
hunger when he fought Mexican up-start Jorge Solis and
Marco Antonio Barrera in a rematch last year.
Last
April Pacquiao dealt Solis an eighth-round knockout but
not before struggling with the lanky Mexican fighter’s
elongated arms and adequate footwork.
Last
October Pacquiao decisioned Barrera in their 12-round
rematch, a bout that jaded observers believe the Mexican
would have won had he fought toe-to-toe with the
Filipino warrior in the last few rounds.
Marquez
‘uneasy’
THE
other day, Pacquiao and Marquez met in a press
conference and although the Filipinos were outnumbered
by rabid Mexican fight fans, Peñalosa felt the Mexican
champion was more uneasy than the Filipino icon.
“Hindi
makatingin si Marquez kay Manny. Parang
nagulat si Marquez kasi relaxed lang si
Manny nu’ng magkita sila,” added Peñalosa.
With
what he saw, Peñalosa predicted a knockout win for
Pacquiao, who has been training at the famed Wild Card
Gym in
Hollywood
led by American guru Freddie Roach since mid-January.
“Masuwerte
si Marquez kung aabot siya ng 10 rounds.
Ang prediction ko, mananalo si Manny ng
knockout,” said Peñalosa.
Pacquiao,
as planned by his American promoter Bob Arum, is being
penciled to challenge WBC lightweight champion David
Diaz sometime in July in Macau. That is, of course, if
Pacquiao handily beats Marquez in their 12-round duel.
Diaz
will see action in the same card as he is set to defend
his crown versus Mexican Ramon Montano.
Marquez,
on the other hand, sounded bent on spoiling all the
grandiose plans of Pacquiao.
“Well, I
can tell you that, because what people are going to see
is a great fight, a great fight. I’m going to put
everything in the ring. And obviously, I won’t be so
confident,” Marquez said during his teleconference with
the international media recently.
“I’m
going to be around from the first, when the bell rings
until the end of the last round, it won’t matter what
ends the fight, but I’m going to be alert, I’m going to
pull all my senses. Everything is going to be in the
ring,” he added.
Pacman-Golden
Boy fight ‘ridiculous’
Consistently being mentioned as possible opponents for
Pacquiao are super-lightweight ruler Ricky Hatton,
pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. and even Oscar
de la Hoya, something that Ring Magazine editor in chief
Nigel Collins said is absolutely ridiculous.
“Roach
said he will look like he swallowed a medicine ball if
he was that heavy. I think there is enough great
fighters around the lightweight division. I just think
it is going too far, and it is not a fair fight,” said
Collins, “but let’s not go too far. Let’s enjoy the
coming fight this weekend.”
The
winner of the Marquez-Pacquiao bout will be crowned the
Ring Magazine’s first 130 lb champion.
“The
winner of the fight between Manny and Juan Manuel will
be the first-ever junior-lightweight champion since the
Ring Magazine launched its new championship policy in
2002. The title has been vacant all that time,” said
Collins. “We now have undisputed world champions in nine
weight classes and the winner this Saturday will make
10.” |
