It was Nazario who brought Pacquiao to the US in 2001 and opened the door for the fighter to find fame and fortune in the international market. Nazario teamed up with New Jersey promoter Murad Muhammad to book big-money fights for Pacquiao but their relationship soured as evidence surfaced indicating less than full disclosure of terms in negotiating his bouts.
Nazario’s contract wasn’t renewed when Pacquiao signed up Shelly Finkel to replace Marty Elorde as his manager last February. Elorde’s five-year contract lapsed with Nazario’s.
Pacquiao sued Muhammad for breach of contract last June and the case was settled out of court.
Nazario said Pacquiao phoned long distance from Los Angeles last week inviting him to fly to Las Vegas to watch his rematch against Morales this Saturday (Sunday morning, Manila).
"We talked only for about two or three minutes," said Nazario. "It was nice of him to remember. I told him I won’t be able to make it because I’m involved in a new business and I have commitments which prevent me from leaving home."
Nazario said he reminded Pacquiao of the huge responsibility on his shoulders.
"The entire country is behind Manny," said Nazario. "We’re all praying for his success. We know Morales will come prepared to fight just like Manny so we expect a hard fight."
Nazario said he will offer his Sunday Mass for Pacquiao’s intentions.
"I always pray for him and for our country," said Nazario. "I know how much Manny means to our countrymen. If he wins, we’re all happy. If he loses, we’re all sad. Manny has done so much for Filipino boxers. He has paved the way for contenders like Boom Boom Bautista and Jimrex Jaca to fight in the US. He’s our No. 1 sports ambassador."
As for the three judges assigned to the fight, Nazario said all he knows about them is they’re over 60 and experienced.
"I can’t comment because I don’t know them," said Nazario. "Two of them were judges in the first fight (Paul Smith and Dave Moretti). But in my opinion, they’ll score it for Morales in a close fight. If the fight goes the distance and Manny’s ahead like 55 to 45, Morales will win the decision. Manny has to be ahead like 70 to 30 for him to win the decision. He has to beat up Morales and maybe knock him down to make it a convincing win."
Smith, 61, Moretti, 61, and Jerry Roth, 64, are the judges. The referee is Kenny Bayless who has worked over 30 world championship fights and enjoys a reputation as a fair arbiter.
Roth is the most experienced of the three judges with over 125 world title fight assignments since 1978. Moretti has judged some 100 world championship bouts since 1978 and Smith, over 30 since 1981.
Nazario described Morales as promoter Bob Arum’s last money-making fighter.
"Morales is Arum’s favorite boy," said Nazario. "Arum is one of the most influential promoters in Las Vegas. If Morales loses, where will he go? If the fight goes to 12 rounds, I think Morales will win by decision."
What will tilt the balance is Pacquiao’s power, added Nazario.
"On TV, Manny looks like he’s in excellent shape," he said. "If he’s in the same condition he was when he fought (Marco Antonio) Barrera, Morales will be no problem. Manny must fight Morales with the same aggressiveness in the first round as in the last round. Morales is durable but if Manny connects with a solid punch, he’ll go down. Nobody hits harder than Manny in his weight division."
If Morales is experiencing difficulty scaling down to 130 pounds, it will be a major handicap. In losing to Zahir Raheem last September, the Mexican tipped the scales at 134 pounds, the heaviest he has ever weighed in his career. His body has naturally matured to outgrow the superfeatherweight division and Morales has often mentioned he plans to move up to the lightweight division and become the first Mexican to win world titles in four different classes.
For Morales, fighting Pacquiao may just be a business proposition. If money is his only motivation, it will not be enough to propel him to make the extra effort to stave off Pacquiao in the trenches. There is, of course, another angle. Morales is also fighting for Mexican pride because he wants to knock out the man who stopped Barrera. It’s his way of gaining revenge for Mexico.