A SPRINKLING of Filipino fighters have seen action on pay-per-view (PPV), but nobody among the very few have fought as a main event fighter. In the next couple of months, history will be made.
On March 19 Manny Pacquiao shoots for immortality when he clashes with a future Hall of Fame entrant Erik Morales of Mexico at the 15,000-seat MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The fight will be available on HBO Pay-Per-View for $44.95 a pop, according to industry sources.
Pacquiao has fought a couple of times on PPV, but he has never starred in such program. The last time Pacquiao fought in a PPV event was in June 2002 when he faced Colombian Jorge Eliecer Julio at the Pyramid Arena in Memphis as the main supporting bout to the rich heavyweight duel between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson.
So excited are the fans of the two fighters that tickets for that fight would be available starting Friday (Saturday in Manila). Prices are $400, $300, $200, $125 and $75, all exclusive of handling fees.
Not every top champion fighter can appear on PPV, and only the likes of Roy Jones Jr., Oscar dela Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley, Vitali and Vladimir Klitschko, Marco Antonio Barrera, Morales, Tyson and the stars of the not-so-distant past such as Julio Cesar Chavez, Pernell Whitaker, Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe, Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran, are the only ones who deserve being elevated to another level.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao and Morales are scheduled to meet face-to-face when a news conference promoting their scheduled 12-round super-featherweight match is held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, a 70-year-old landmark in Beverly Hills on Wednesday afternoon (early Thursday morning in Manila).
Pacquiao, 26, is going to be accompanied by his promoter Murad Muhammad and trainer Freddie Roach, while Morales, 28, is going to be joined in the affair by Top Rank main man Bob Arum and members of the fighter?s bloated entourage. Murad?s M&M Sports and Top Rank are promoting the fight.
