HUMBERTO SOTO of Mexico plans to use Bobby Pacquiao, the unheralded and younger brother of boxing star Manny, as a springboard to bigger fights.
Soto clashes with Bobby on June 9 in a crucial duel at Madison Square Garden in New York with a victory expected to strengthen his bid to get a crack at Manny sometime this year or next year.
Top Rank, which is promoting the fight underneath the Miguel Cotto-Zab Judah slugfest, is cashing on a Soto win so the revenge angle can be hyped when Soto squares off with Manny.
Soto, however, is not looking past Bobby.
The rugged and durable Soto is training like hell in Tijuana knowing all too well that Bobby is also doing the same.
Bobby cannot afford to take it nice and easy against Soto and reports from his training camp at the Wild Card in Hollywood reveal that Bobby has been giving Freddie Roach a reason to smile.
“Bobby’s doing very good,” Roach told the Bulletin recently.
Roach said his mission early next month is to prevent Soto from securing a shot at Manny.
Soto is one of four fighters being eyed by Top Rank big boss to duke it out with Manny on October 6 at a venue yet to be named.
Next week, Soto and Bobby are going to face each other when a press conference is held somewhere in Los Angeles.
Both fighters are expected to arrive in the Big Apple on June 4.
