MEXICAN Oscar Larios doesn’t stand a chance of winning over Manny Pacquiao when they clash on July 2 at the Araneta Coliseum.
This was disclosed by a respected boxing figure during a brief interview recently in New York, saying Larios faces tremendous odds when he squares off with Pacquiao.
Top Rank spokesman Ricardo Jimenez believes Pacquiao is going to be too much for the Mexican, who Jimenez described as “beat up.”
Larios has been to so many wars that Jimenez, who also acts as an interpreter, doesn’t expect to hear an earth-shaking report from the Philippines that would imperil the megabuck rubber match involving Pacquiao and Top Rank money-maker Erik Morales.
The third fight between Pacquiao and Morales is scheduled for Nov. 18 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
“Pacquiao’s going to take care of Larios,” said Jimenez, who had his hands full also acting publicist during a June 10 promotion at Madison Square Garden that featured Manny’s younger brother, the head-turning super-featherweight Bobby Pacquiao.
While non-believers could not held but downplay Larios’ chances, the rangy Guadalajara native continues to train like a madman at the Teiken Gym in Tokyo under the watchful eyes of his trainers. They will arrive in Manila on June 25 and will showcase his wares during a press-public workout the following day.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, is arriving tomorrow morning from Los Angeles, where he spent 90 percent of his training at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood. He will be joined in the Philippine Airlines flight by trainer Freddie Roach and American handlers Shelly Finkel and Nicholas Khan, training assistant Buboy Fernandez and a bevy of other friends.
There are reports that Pacquiao will train late Tuesday morning at the Wild Card in Sucat, Para?aque, but confidant Wakee Salud said the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippine headquarters at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila is also being considered.
