ARLINGTON, TEXAS – World Boxing Organization (WBO) President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel says Manny Pacquiao is one of the most prestigious champions his sanctioning organization out of Puerto Rico has ever had wear its belt.
“He’s the No. 1 fighter of his era. He’s currently the No. 1 ranked pound for pound fighter in the world and we are proud to have Pacquiao defend our title in this spectacular stadium Saturday night,” said the attorney after the official press conference Wednesday afternoon from Cowboys Stadium.
“This defense I expect will be difficult for Pacquiao, ” said Valcarcel who used to negotiate contracts for the great Wilfredo Gomez of Puerto Rico in the late 1970s and became WBO President in 1995. “Joshua Clottey can fight. He has never been stopped in his career. With a crowd of 50,000 anything could happen.
“Fans worldwide respect Pacquiao because he is humble and can seriously punch.”
Valcarcel spoke at the press conference and will supervise the world title fight on behalf of the WBO. It will be the only title at stake in the main event.
On the subject of unifying titles with any of the three other sanctioning groups Valcarcel is optimistic.
“This is being done slowly and will continue. This is not our problem, said the popular Valcarcel. “What bogs down the system are the mandatory defenses the champions must make. The timing of the defenses are always a problem. Nobody can wait around for months to satisfy another sanctioning group. Rival promoters and egos cause chaos.
“The WBO isn’t just boxing. We give back to our communities. We provide humanitarian aid such as recently in Chile. We have affiliates in 64 countries including The Philippines, Central and South American countries. We send children all over the world gifts at Christmas,” said Valcarcel.
