LAS VEGAS ? Manny Pacquiao vividly remembers that hot summer night in June 2001 when the boxing world took notice of what an unknown Filipino with a bleached hairstyle could do with his fists.
A last-minute replacement and a massive underdog against Lehlo Ledwaba underneath an Oscar De La Hoya headliner at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Pacquiao recalled how nobody thought he could win being an obscure fighter under the bright lights of a Las Vegas ring.
Telling reporters during a press conference on Wednesday at the Hollywood Theater inside the MGM Grand, Pacquiao said he was ?a 20-1 underdog,? although, in reality, he was not.
Actually, the sportsbook didn?t have a listing for his fight with Ledwaba since ringsiders never knew who he was but were aware of what the South African could do atop the ring.
So convinced were the experts that Pacquiao, a substitute for Mexican Enrique Sanchez, would end up being battered and bruised just like many others who came into a big fight on a scant two weeks notice that they didn?t even knew how to properly pronounce his surname.
But after busting up Ledwaba black and blue and sending crimson down his nostrils, almost everyone knew how to say it.
Saturday night?s clash with Shane Mosley has also the same appeal to Pacquiao even though he has assumed the role of the favored fighter.
?This is an important fight for me,? said Pacquiao, who will be staking his World Boxing Organization welterweight crown and his reputation as boxing?s top fighter. Pacquiao said the Mosley fight has a lot of risks involved owing to his opponent?s immense experience and talent.
?You know, he is the guy you should not take lightly because he has good hand and foot speed and punching power,? said Pacquiao, brushing off Mosley?s advanced age of 39.
It was because of these positive traits of Mosley that made Pacquiao realize to report for training camp a full week ahead of schedule and push himself to the limit at the gym.
