A warm welcome greeted Manny Pacquiao and his entourage the moment they arrived in Las Vegas for his highly-anticipated rematch with Erik Morales this weekend.
The same reception was actually given to the Filipino southpaw upon his departure to the world’s gambling capital, with American manager Gary Gittelsohn providing the biggest morale booster among his countless well wishers.
Gittelsohn, the manager of Fil-Am world champion Brian Villoria, sees a Pacquiao victory in his return bout with the fearsome Morales on Saturday night (Sunday morning, Manila time) at the Thomas & Mack Center in Nevada.
“I don’t see a close fight and I think it’s Manny’s fight. He worked hard for this and he deserves it,” said Gittelsohn, one of the many visitors who saw the 27-year-old fighter from General Santos City at the Wild Card gym in Los It was a few hours late, but two-time world champion Manny Pacquiao finally arrived to a ‘Grand Gala’ welcome at Wynn Las Vegas for Saturday’s mega showdown against three-time world champion Erik Morales on Top Rank’s big “The Battle” card at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, live on HBO Pay Per View. Pacquiao and his team drove in from Los Angeles.
Angeles Monday afternoon prior to leaving for the so-called ‘Sin City.’
“I really feel it in my heart. This is Manny’s fight. So it’s going to be a good fight for the Philippines,” Gittelsohn added.
The American manager knows what he’s talking about.
He was, afterall, there when Pacquiao demolished Mexican Hector Velasquez in the sixth round of his last fight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles September of last year.
Villoria, an Ilocos native but is based in Hawaii, fought in the undercard of that boxing promotion put up by Top Rank, where he knocked out Eric Ortiz of Mexico to win the World Boxing Council (WBC) light-flyweight crown.
He’s now preparing for his first title defense against Jose Aguirre next month.
Gittelsohn said Pacquiao is a perfect match against the 29-year-old Morales, a three-time world champion in three different weight categories.
“Once Manny steps up, his aggression will take over. In their weight, I really think it’s only Pacquiao who can back Morales off. The Filipinos will love this fight,” he admitted.
Gittelsohn also revealed he was informed by a Morales insider about the Mexican’s problem of making the 130 lbs. weight limit.
As stipulated in the contract of the 12-round, mega-buck fight, any fighter who goes over the limit will be fined $250,000 for every excess pound.
“I was told he’s having trouble making it. I was also told that for the first time in his career, Morales has started questioning himself. But he’ll make the weight,” said Gittelsohn.
Morales, a native of Tijuana, climbed in the super-featherweight division (135 lbs) in his last fight against Zahir Raheem and paid dearly for it as he dropped a unanimous decision loss against the American Olympian.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao signed autographs and posed for pictures with several fans when he arrived at the Wynn Resort and Casino in Las Vegas Monday night (Tuesday morning, Manila time).
The Filipino was wearing a baseball cap and a black leather jacket when he stepped out from his brand-new Porsche, which led a long caravan of Pacquiao supporters that drove six hours from Los Angeles.
A large video wall showing the highlights of the first Pacquiao-Morales fight last year was being shown just outside of the hotel when they arrived.
Morales is expected to follow suit in Vegas today by private jet from his training camp in Mexico.
“Manny is ready for this. He’s in tremendous shape,” said Pacquiao’s American trainer Freddie Roach.
