The phenomenal drawing power of Philippines? pride Manny Pacquiao and former World Boxing Council super featherweight king Erik Morales was evident as the press conference for their showdown drew the biggest ever media turnout yesterday at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.
The official launch of the sure blockbuster event dubbed ?Bring It On? was hosted by Top Rank?s Bob Arum and international promoter Murad Muhammad.
According to former Viva TV host Jannelle So, who covered the event for Viva Sports boxing show ?The Main Event? over RPN-9, a huge number of journalists and at least 15 TV camera crews gathered as early as 9 a.m. for the scheduled luncheon press conference. Among them were Fox, ESPN and the popular Spanish network Telemundo.
She said there were ?a lot of Mexicans,? prompting Morales? trainer to boast that Filipinos will be outnumbered on fight night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 19 by a 80-20 margin.
So said Pacquiao was all smiles as he entered, wearing a long-sleeved blue and white sweatshirt with his familiar gold crucifix strung around his neck and his $13,000 Rolex wristwatch. Morales looked smart in a black jacket.
Pacquiao told Morales: ?I?m going to give you a real good fight? even as he told Viva Sports/Manila Standard he?s ?not afraid of Morales? and he?s ?an easier opponent? compared to World Boxing Association/International Boxing Federation champion Juan Manuel Marquez.
Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach both agreed that the extra weeks resulting from the scrapping of the Marquez fight on Feb. 26 was a blessing for the flamboyant Filipino southpaw who now has three extra weeks to prepare after a round of late nights and fun in Manila prior to his departure last Jan. 11.
Morales, whose only defeats were in somewhat controversial fashion to Marco Antonio Barrera, said: ?I had three great fights last year although they didn?t end the way I hoped they would. But I am very satisfied with my performances. I didn?t want to take anyone easy coming back. I think the battle with Pacquiao will be a great, explosive fight.?
Muhammad, who worked a miracle along with Arum to set the fight on pay-per-view and a guaranteed $1.75 million purse for Pacquiao, reportedly stirred things up by stating that Pacquiao ?destroyed a legend in Barrera, knocked down Marquez three times in the very first round and is now going after Morales.?
Arum, for his part, was looking at the generated excitement being turned into a lucrative business and making the risks he and Muhammad took very worthwhile. ?This smells like it?s going to be a tremendous business because Morales-Barrera did big, but they were two Mexicans. I think a Filipino and a Mexican brings another element to it because it energizes over two million Filipinos in Southern California.?
Pacquiao went to bed early after a long day which included roadwork and a light workout even as he told Viva Sports/Manila Standard to ?please explain to the members of the Philippine Sportswriters Association that I needed to be here to train for this crucial fight. I need their support and the prayers of my countrymen so that every punch I throw will have the power of 80 million Filipinos behind it.?
Left out in the cold following demands for a $1.5 million purse for a rematch with Pacquiao, a visibly upset Marquez told well-known boxing writer James Blears of Boxing Scene: ?I am very angry and even more motivated to show what I can do as world champion.? Trainer Ignacio ?Nacho? Beristain, who started the trouble with his demands, admitted that ?an important fight (against Pacquiao) has fallen apart but we are not going to give into the whims of the promoter. It?s obvious the promoter (Arum) is not Mother Teresa. He?s an experimental type. My fighter has dignity. This has been a bad experience but nothing more. And we?ll have more successes. We are trying to get Israel Vasquez, but with the behavior of these type of people, we don?t have certainty.?
Blears reported that a fight against Vasquez, a one-time sparring partner of Pacquiao and the current IBF super bantamweight champion, would mean dropping down to 122 pounds, and a pay cut, too. Vasquez could be on the same Feb. 26 fight card which will also feature the Puerto Rican sensation Miguel Cotto.
