WHILE Manny Pacquiao can?t take any chances, Oscar Larios of Mexico can risk everything when the two fighters slug it out on Sunday before an expected full-house crowd at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Filipino boxer?s camp calls the fight a tune-up match for his rubber match with Erik Morales on November 18 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Both ring gladiators, however, are keenly aware that much more is at stake other than Pacquiao?s lightly regarded World Boxing Council International super featherweight belt.
Besides putting on a good show in front of his countrymen, the hometown hero, who easily met the 130-pound weight limit by tipping the scales at 129.5 pounds in Saturday?s early official weigh-in, has several other things to consider.
For one, Sunday?s ?Mano-a-Mano? event is the first boxing production of Pacquiao?s promotional outfit in a joint venture with giant TV network ABS-CBN, so ?PacMan? is anxious for it to do well, not only locally but also overseas.
ABS-CBN, which reportedly spent something between $5 million to $6.5 million to stage the event, pulled out all stops to give the boxing showcase a world-class aura.
Noted American ring announcer Michael Buffer was flown in to the tune of $15,000 so that his famous ?Let?s get ready to rumble!? spiel would open the Pacquiao-Larios encounter.
Veteran ring commentators Bob Sheridan, who called the shots for the 1975 ?Thrilla in Manila? classic featuring Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, and David Bontempo were also hired for big bucks to annotate the fights for a worldwide audience.
Inside the ring, American trainer Freddie Roach intends to use cut-the-trunk-the-tree-will-go-down strategy: Body shots to break down Larios to lower his guard and open him up for Pacquiao?s knockout punch?from either hand.
?We?ll jump at him [Oscar] right away. We?ll attack his body, go for combinations to open up his defenses, hopefully setting up Pacquiao for a knockout. We won?t allow the Mexican to carry the fight,? Roach said.
?What you will see is a complete fighter: Good lateral and head movement, attacking with either hand, going for combinations. It will be a good show,? said Roach, who seemed certain that his charge would pick up his 42nd win and 34th knockout victim no less.
?I don?t see Larios lasting the distance. There?s no other boxer that I?m afraid of right now other than Manny Pacquiao,? he said.
By cramming his training into six weeks, there are those who suspect the Filipino boxing idol might not be running on a full tank, a suggestion dismissed by one his American handlers, Nick Khan.
?The whole month we spent in the US for training was crucial. Had Manny not gone there, then we would have problems. Oh yes, he?s ready,? Khan said. ?I don?t see the fight going past eight rounds.?
In the event ?Chololo? makes the mistake of going to toe-to-toe with Pacquiao, Roach said: ?I don?t think he [Larios] will be able to take Manny?s punches. Once he get hit by Manny and reverts to form by taking my boy on, that will be the end.?
A convincing win by Pacquiao would also telegraph a message to Morales, who is still fuming at the humiliating beating he suffered at the hands of the Filipino prizefighter in January, that he can expect more of the same when they clash in November.
As for Larios, the 7-1 longshot appears to have taken all the knocks on his ability and pride in stride in going up against what experts say is the most dreaded boxer in the 130-pound division.
Larios has appeared loose and relaxed in all of his local public appearances, including Saturday?s weigh-in, where he checked in at 129 pounds.
Of course, earning $450,000?the biggest paycheck in the Guadalajara native?s career? can bring a smile to anyone?s face.
In the remote chance that Larios manages to upsets Pacquiao in a big way, Larios would earned the reputation of being ?the man who beat the man? since none of his more illustrious compatriots?Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez and Morales? have ever comprehensively beaten ?The Destroyer.?
In 2003, at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio, Texas Barrera threw in the towel after 11 rounds. A year later, Marquez was stopped thrice by Pacquiao in the early rounds before rallying to pull off a close and controversial unanimous decision at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It would be an upset equal to if not surpassing an unheralded Buster Douglas beating a seemingly invincible Mike Tyson?and open the money floodgates for the Mexican.
?We know that it looks like a mission impossible. But Pacquiao can be beaten. We came here to win,? Rafael Molina, Larios? manager, said at the press conference on Thursday.
?If Oscar beats Pacquiao, he will be set for life. They [Pacquiao?s handlers] will offer us a mountain of money for the rematch,? said Molina, whose asking price for a return bout is $6 million.
Despite 36 knockout victories in 56 fights, the lanky 5-foot-7 Larios is an untested article at 130 pounds, the first time the Mexican will be fighting at that weight, which is bound to diminish his speed, agility and punching power.
His own record shows that in his last fight when he fought over 122 pounds in 2004?against Jesus Salvador Perez at 127 and Ivan Alvarez at 125?the results were unanimous decision wins; good but unimpressive.
So despite Molina?s bravado of his charge being a ?better fighter than Morales and Barrera,? the hype might not match the Mexican?s actual performance.
?Larios is a volume fighter not a power puncher like Pacquiao, and, besides, Manny is much more speedy and powerful than him,? said American boxing manager Richard Koncz, who handles Pacquiao?s younger brother, Bobby, and rising Cebuano star Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista.
Third man in the ring of the Oscar-Larios match is longtime Philippine resident Bruce McTavish, who calls Angeles, Pampanga home.
The neutral referees are Daniel Van de Wiele of Belgium, Nappharat Sricharoen of Thailand and Umberto Fungoni of France. WBC international championship chairman Mauro Betti of Italy is the fight supervisor.
