LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao isn’t used to the suite life.
Pacquiao is staying in the lap of luxury on a top floor at the MGM Grand, but a bed isn’t comfortable enough for him.
“I’ve found him curled up in a corner, sleeping on the floor,” said Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach, who will be in the popular Filipino’s corner tonight against Erik Morales (47-2, 34 KOs) in a 130-pound bout that HBO will televise on pay-per-view ($44.95)
The main event, a possible candidate for 2005 Fight of the Year, is expected to begin between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m. on a card scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
At opening bell, Pacquiao (39-2-2, 30 KOs) will be back within the familiar comforts of the ropes and away from creature comforts in a sprawling suite with thick carpet that is just too soft for a featherweight.
Roach said Pacquiao is used to sleeping on a floor at his home in Mindanao, an island in the southern Philippines.
Roach was there with him for 4 1/2 weeks at a training camp in the town of Davao late last year.
“Five guys would be sleeping in one room,” Roach said.
“I was the only guy with a bed.”
But more than just furniture is missing. Roach said Pacquiao’s house has no plumbing.
“You pour a bucket of water into the toilet to flush it,” he said.
The absence of modern convenience is just part of the challenge. Pacquiao’s home is in a volatile region that has been hit by violence linked to Muslim rebels.
“It’s a Muslim-Catholic battle,” Roach said.
When Roach arrived in Manila, he said he was warned not to go.
“They told me I’d be killed,” he said.
Throughout the camp, Roach said he had two armed bodyguards with him at all times. Both, he said, brandished machine guns.
“I was never threatened,” said Roach, who also believes Pacquiao’s popularity protected him. “Manny is called the national treasure.”
Pacquiao is a practicing Catholic, who, according to Roach, attends mass every Sunday and prays before bouts.
“Some of his family have been threatened with kidnapping,” Roach said. “But Manny has never had a problem.”
The left-handed Pacquiao has been a slight betting favorite, although he faces a tough challenge in Morales, an equally aggressive Mexican who is nearly 2 inches taller and could outweigh him by eight pounds. Morales was at a reported 144 pounds when he stepped into the ring before his narrow loss in November to Marco Antonio Barrera.
Pacquiao, who beat Barrera, expects to be at 136.
“If he loses, there will a day of national mourning,” journalist Nick Giongco of the Manila Bulletin said.
Win or lose, Pacquiao will collect $1.75 million, none of which will go toward the purchase of a new bed.
