Pacman returns to La-la-land

LOS ANGELES — He’s back . . . and he brings with him lessons from the past.

"Actually, right now I’m not thinking about the rematch. I’m just very focused on my upcoming fight, I’m very concentrated on the (Hector) Velasquez fight," said two-time world champion Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao.

Five months after his loss to three-time world champion Erik "El Terrible" Morales, Philippine’s boxing hero is back in Los Angeles to prepare for another match on Sept. 10, 2005.

The event dubbed "Double Trouble" will be held at the Staples Center and will feature Morales versus American Zahir Raheem; Pacquiao versus Velasquez, another Mexican fighter from Tijuana, in a 12-round super featherweight bout; and another fighter of Filipino descent Brian "The Hawaiian Punch" Viloria versus Eric Ortiz fighting for WBC Light Flyweight Championship.

"This card is so big that we have press conferences almost every other week. Top Rank has promoted a number of cards. This is the best all around boxing card ever. And one more is that the prices are affordable because these fighters appeal to the ordinary fans, to the ordinary people," said promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank.

In a news conference held at Max’s Restaurant in Glendale, California last Aug. 11, Pacquiao, Viloria and Velasquez faced the mixed press group of Filipinos, Mexicans and the mainstream. KCAL 9 news, a local television station, was also present in the event, emphasizing the marketability of the fighters.

"The rivalry, which is a friendly rivalry, is great between Mexico and the Philippines because fighters from both these ethnic groups come to fight and that’s what makes them so entertaining for the public.

"And when you have a Filipino fighter against a Mexican fighter, you know you’re going to see fireworks," said Arum who added in jest that "Manny Pacquiao must think that the only fighters in the world are Mexicans."

Pacquiao (39-3-2, 30 KO’s), who arrived in a simple round-neck navy blue shirt and jeans, was unusually reserved and timid, compared to how he answered questions from at the press conference for his fight against Morales a few months ago.

"Ok naman, 100 percent naka-focus ako sa ensayo ko. Ayos, walang problema, walang iniisip na iba," was all he said when asked about his physical and mental condition coming into the fight.

Some people are concerned that one month may not be enough to prepare against the Mexican. Trainer Freddie Roach was in Canada for his brother’s wedding and therefore was unable to address this issue. But the rest of Team Pacquiao merely shrugged off the concern.

"Ok na sa akin ‘yung isang buwan lang," Pacman said.

"It isn’t one month. He came here in good shape. He ran, had run around a lot in the Philippines. He was training, in between partying, in the Philippines. He was training hard and partying hard," joked Pacquiao’s manager Shelly Finkel. "He’s coming in pretty good shape. I was worried that he may be a little overweight. But obviously, he’s not."

"When given the microphone for a short speech, Pacquiao merely greeted everyone and thanked his supporters. He impressed the Mexican and mainstream reporters by translating into English everything he said in Tagalog. In the end, he even went a step further by saying something in the Mexican language: "Quiero del gracia al publico Mexicano (I’d like to thank the Mexican public.)"

For his part, Velasquez (41-10-2, 30 KO’s), who spoke through an interpreter, invited the Mexican people to celebrate Mexican Independence Day (Sept. 16) a week early on Sept.10 at the Staples Center.

According to him, his age will only be one of his advantages over the 26-year-old Filipino southpaw. Velasquez said that at 30 years old, he is at his prime to fight anybody. And though he may not be the favorite in this upcoming match against Pacquiao, Velasquez stressed that being the underdog also gives him strength.

"I can go against everybody, against the odds. I’m always the underdog. That’s my favorite position. That is my advantage," he said. "I’m in my prime so he’s nothing. If it would have been seven or five years ago, I would probably even not think about fighting with him."

Nonetheless, Velasquez knows fighting Pacquiao is no walk in the park. One of his trainers, Javier Jimenez said they go to bed at 8:55 p.m. and wake up at 4:30 a.m. daily to run and start training.

"Either way, it’s like a coin in the air. But it’s going to go 12. Even if they fall down, they’re going to get up and fight until the end. I know Freddie Roach and the people training Pacquiao, they have the heart," Jimenez said.

He added that they have to work hard for this fight because this is their chance to be fully recognized by the community. Jimenez noted with a hint of bitterness that just because Velasquez was not as good-looking as the other Mexican fighters, or not as flashy as them, "people don’t really believe in us." Jimenez hopes this fight could change that.

"Pacquiao was the world champion back then. Now it’s our turn," he concluded.

"In experience, he has a lot of experience than me. But I’m younger. I’m hungry," Pacquiao countered. But when asked how he thought the match would go, the usually confident Pacquiao simply said: "No comment ako. But sisikapin kong manalo."

In a separate interview, Arum gave three differences between Pacquiao’s last fight and this coming match that he thinks will spell the difference in the outcome: "I think his promoter distracted him on a lot of issues that won’t be a factor if and when he fights Erik again. Number two, I think he’s used to Reyes gloves and in Nevada a rule has been passed that each fighter can wear his own gloves. So if he wants Reyes gloves, that’s fine. And third, I think they made a big mistake in opening up the gym during his training. That helped with the promotion but it hurt his training. And I think Freddie is going to keep the doors closed both for his fight on Sept. 10 and his fight against Erik."

Arum added that if Morales prevails over Raheem and Pacquiao defeats Velasquez, the much-awaited Morales-Pacquiao rematch will most likely happen this coming December 10th or January 21st next year.

(The last part of Ricky Brown series will come out next week.)

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