SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Times have changed drastically since that fateful November evening in 2003 when Manny Pacquiao pulled off a victory that eventually made him a Filipino icon.
Since then, the make-up of Pacquiao’s entourage has undergone a facelift so major that only a handful of guys from that momentous night at the Alamodome when Pacquiao battered Marco Antonio Barrera have managed to make a return trip and see the Filipino lefty take on an unheralded but ambitious Mexican named Jorge Solis.
Gone are business manager Rod Nazario and promoter Murad Muhammad, cutman Lenny de Jesus and some others who had formed Pacquiao’s small support crew. The team has now ballooned to as many as 30 individuals, many of whom with no boxing background.
Pacquiao seems to thrive in this atmosphere which some people close to him describe as “organized chaos.”
“He seems to like it that way,” said one who used to be part of that group but has gone the way of others – left out in the cold as Manny built a new support group.
“Many years ago, this kind of set-up was non-existent. This was not how managing a boxer should be done,” added the observer who does not wish to be identified by name.
Trainer Freddie Roach and strength coach Justin Fortune of the Wild Card are still here, while Buboy Fernandez, who made his US debut as Pacquiao’s cornerman in June 2002 in Memphis, is now joined by Nonoy Neri in training the boxer.
When Pacquiao arrived here from Los Angeles, he was with Nazario and San Francisco-based son Roberto, and close associates Lito Mondejar, Moy Lainez, Gerry Garcia, wife Jinkee, Fernandez, Roach, Fortune and Perez. They flew on economy class.
They were joined by General Santos City businessman Rey Golingan, who is still here, and two scribes from Manila.
Nowadays, Pacquiao does everything in style from his wardrobe, choice of automobiles, culinary inclinations, hotel accommodations and even airfare class.
Four years ago, Pacquiao would have not minded taking economy class.
But that’s no longer the case. It’s first class all the way.
