The glass isn?t half-empty. It?s half-full.
That, in effect, is how boxing aficionado and lawyer Rudy Salud responded to critics who continue to scoff at Manny Pacquiao?s next fight as an impending mismatch.
Salud, the founding World Boxing Council secretary-general, said that the disparity between Pacquiao and Fahsan Por Thawatchai isn?t because the Thai fighter is weak.
?Manny now has become a super athlete. There are only a few fighters out there who are in his league, in his caliber. So most of the opponents Manny is going to face, naturally, will become mismatched,? Salud said Friday after a news conference in Taguig that officially sealed the Pacquiao-Thawatchai bout on December 11.
Thawatchai, who will challenge Pacquiao in a 12-rounder for the Filipino?s Ring featherweight title at sprawling The Fort in Taguig, has defeated 20 Filipinos, nearly half of his 44-win total.
The 30-year-old Thai fighter, a southpaw like Pacquiao, has lost seven times but only once in the last nine years. He has never been knocked out in a professional career spanning more than 12 years.
But Thatwatchai, who flew in Thursday from Thailand with his manager Jimmy Chaichotchuang to attend the news conference yesterday, hasn?t met an opponent with Pacquiao?s reputation and ferocity.
Pacquiao?s last fight was in May when he faced Juan Manuel Marquez for the Mexican?s twin featherweight belts. Pacquiao?s record in US-based fights alone is an impressive six wins and two draws.
Thawatchai, who is five years older than Pacquiao (38-2-2), has stepped only once outside of his home country for a bout, losing an International Boxing Federation super-bantamweight title eliminator in Illinois in May.
?The fact that somebody of Manny?s skill is on [the Filipinos?] side is something the country should be proud of. Don?t you think that should be our attitude?? Salud added.
Salud also lauded the efforts of Pacquiao?s US-based promoter Murad Muhammad for ?choosing to remain with Pacquiao,? adding that Muhammad is ?a vital cog in the Pacquiao machinery.?
?I told him to be more patient with Manny,? Salud admitted. ?And that [Muhammad] should do so not only for Manny but for the rest of the country.?
?This fight is bigger than Manny Pacquiao. This is about making people outside of this country believe that we can come up with a big fight in the Philippines,? said Muhammad.
Muhammad, a confidante of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, asserted that it will only be a matter of time before Filipino fighters get ?their due recognition in the boxing world,? and that ?Pacquiao must be at [its forefront].?
?That?s why Manny can?t just think of the money. He can?t think too much of himself. He has to do what he needs to do to make the country proud,? Muhammad added.
Muhammad?s contract with Pacquiao ends in February.
The last time Pacquiao fought in Metro Manila was in March last year when he knocked out Serikzhan Yeshmangbetov at the Luneta Grandstand.
The Pacquiao-Thawatchai bout, which is expected to draw 40,000 spectators, is regarded as a tune-up match for Pacquiao?s reported rematch with Marquez in February.
Joining Muhammad, Pacquiao and Thawatchai in Friday?s news conference were Pacquiao?s business manager Rod Nazario, Mayor Freddie Tinga of Taguig and commissioner Emmanuel Palabrica of the Games and Amusements Board.
