Accreditation will be tight to all activities leading to the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar Larios on July 2 at the Araneta Coliseum, the Filipino ring idol?s handlers said Tuesday.
“Everything will be done professionally, just like what they do in Las Vegas,” Jake Joson, Team Pacquiao?s chief of staff, said.
“ID cards will be issued to every event related to the fight. Security will be very strict. We want to show our American partners how professional we are,” Joson added.
Reli de Leon, another key man in the Manny Pacquiao Promotions, said local and international journalists who wish to cover the events in the run-up to the Pacquiao-Larios boxing blockbuster will be issued credentials starting with the local training of the two boxers in June.
De Leon said since Pacquiao?s World Boxing Council International super featherweight crown will be at stake, the promotions outfit will limit the scheduled visits to the training camps of both boxers to limit their distractions.
“This is a serious fight. Both fighters don?t want to take any chances. So we will limit the visits to the Pacquiao and Larios training camps. Those without credentials will be unable to enter them,” de Leon said.
Joson said they were set to inspect two sites being offered by San Miguel Corp.?which has a P100 million-plus lifetime sponsorship deal with Pacquiao?in Baguio City and Tagaytay this weekend for the training sites of the two protagonists.
“We will take a look at them then decide which of the two sites are ideal for Pacquiao and Larios,” said Joson.
Although both are high-altitude spots, Freddie Roach, Pacquiao?s American trainer, has said that he would prefer Baguio as his charge?s training site.
The former WBC super bantamweight champion, Larios is set to visit the Philippines in late April to drum up publicity for the five-match card pitting top Filipino pugs against Mexican foes.
Besides Pacquiao, also scheduled to see action are ex-world champion Gerry Pe?alosa, Randy Suico, Ray “Boom Boom” Bautista and Jimrex Jaca, who is managed by “PacMan” adviser Rex “Wakee” Salud of Cebu.
On the other hand, Filipino-American Joe Ramos, Pacquiao?s English interpreter, disclosed that Bautista has been given the green light by Golden Boy Promotions to compete in the undercard of the July 2 program at the Big Dome.
“I just got a call from Richard Schaeffer of Golden Boy Promotions on Sunday and he said that it would be an honor for Boom Boom to fight in the July 2 promotion,” Ramos said.
Bautista and Z “The Dream” Gorres, both members of the ALA stable of Cebu-based boxing patron Antonio Aldeguer, signed up an exclusive management contract with the outfit owned by Oscar De La Hoya on March 18.
