LOS ANGELES – Fight week starts Monday when Manny Pacquiao and Oscar dela Hoya head for Las Vegas, just five days before their “Dream Match” at the MGM Grand.
Pacquiao will hold a quick workout at the Wild Card Gym in the morning, and will spar four rounds before he heads to Sin City early in the afternoon.
Dela Hoya will be honored with the unveiling of a 14-foot bronze statue in his likeness at the Staples Center at 2 p.m. then will board a private plane to Vegas.
Pacquiao leads a long convoy of SUVs to Vegas, him and his wife Jinkee on board their Lincoln Navigator. The custom bus carrying his family and friends will tag along.
While the fighters will be in Vegas by night, Pacquiao staying at Mandalay Bay and Dela Hoya at MGM, they will be formally welcomed in their respective hotels only on Tuesday.
It’s the first time that Pacquiao and his opponent are staying in separate hotels.
The final press conference is set Wednesday at the Hollywood Theater and on Friday the official weigh-in takes place at 2 p.m. at the MGM Grand Arena.
Pacquiao feels so relaxed that he wants everyone around him to do the same.
“Relax lang kayo (Stay relaxed). Tingnan niyo ako, relax lang (Look at me, I’m so relaxed),” he said inside his busy La Palazzo apartment Sunday afternoon.
“Masyado yata kayong kinakabahan, eh (You guys seem to be nervous),” said the boxer who is facing the biggest fight of his career.
Last Saturday, Pacquiao sounded so confident of beating Dela Hoya who may be fighting his last fight, and against the pound-for-pound king.
“Napansin naming reckless na siya pag uma-atake (We noticed that he becomes reckless on the attack),” said Pacquiao.
In the HBO series 24/7, one that covered every move of the two fighters as they trained, Dela Hoya’s trainer, Nacho Beristain, talked about the same flaw.
“You are getting reckless when attacking. And your’re taking hits that you shouldn’t be taking,” Beristain told Dela Hoya in a break during sparring.
Pacquiao knows for sure.