OK, I?ll let you in on one secret. Just promise me: Don?t leak it. Otherwise, as President Duterte has said to warn Endo violators: ?I will kill you.?
Joke, joke, joke.
Quoting President Duterte again, ?That?s just hyperbole.?
Now to the secret.
Next to PacMom aka Dionisia, there?s another person that Manny Pacquiao can never disobey: Bob Arum.
If Manny can afford to cross swords with Jinkee but only at times, though, not with Bob.
While Freddie Roach?s wish is Manny?s command, Bob?s is more than that.
If Manny might dare debate with Freddie on whether an orthodox boxer can unleash a right hook or not, arguing that issue with Bob is a downright no-no.
Of course, a true-blue right-hander can only deliver a left hook and never a right hook. But if Bob says otherwise, Freddie might object. Not Manny.
Manny can always exchange notes with Freddie. Never with Bob.
Manny can deviate from fight plans during an actual bout and Freddie wouldn?t mind. That?d be treated as a non-issue.
Not with Bob. For Manny to veer away from Bob?s chosen path would be a mortal sin. For Manny to even think of it could send him to purgatory.
To illustrate, did Manny immediately say no when Bob said that PacMan was going to fight again?
Of course, not.
The most that he could do?and actually did?was to say he had yet to be informed about the fight.
But after Bob said the fight had already been penciled for Nov. 6 (PHL Time) in Las Vegas, Manny replied: ?Although I have retired, I am always ready to un-retire.? Or words to that effect.
While Roach has made Pacquiao for what he is today?a mean machine almost like no other?Arum transformed Pacquiao into a man of enormous wealth from a virtual journeyman with megabuck fights only his caliber could calibrate.
In other words, while Roach created a boxing legend in Pacquiao, Arum crafted surefire sales pitches to make Pacquiao?s fights sell like hotcakes.
Pacquiao, despite a pair of 37-year-old legs, can still pack them in as proven by his convincing points victory over Timothy Bradley last April.
That?s why fighters of lesser star potential continue to queue and Arum only knows it too well on who to pit against Pacquiao. Now you know.
Pssst! Squealers, beware. You could get killed. Joke.
