THE boxer was light-hearted, even cheerful, but his trainer looked graver than usual. Their messages, however, were the same: Nothing less than a convincing victory on Sunday.
Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao and his American tactician, Freddie Roach, were a picture of contrasts on Thursday at the press conference to drum up the ?Mano-a-Mano? fight with the Mexican contender Oscar Larios at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday.
?[There?s] no future without a win here,? said Roach, noting the big fights being lined up for his ward, at the packed briefing held at the Discovery Suites Hotel at the Ortigas Center in Pasig City organized by Manny Pacquiao Promotions.
?We?ve trained for six weeks, four in the US and two here. Manny?s in shape.?He?s as good as he was against Erik Morales,? added Roach, who stuck to his guns about Pacquiao ending the fight in six rounds?if not less.
?If we can carry out our game plan, then we will take him [Larios] out in six rounds. Maybe even in one or two,? Roach added.
Raring to mix it up
Pacquiao, who wore rose-tinted sunglasses at the start of the briefing but later took them off, appeared relaxed and loose.
?Excited na akong matikman ang suntok ni Larios [I?m excited to feel the punches of Larios],? said the boxer half-seriously.
Asked about Larios? punching power, Pacquiao retorted: ?Malakas . . . malakas mang-asar [Strong . . . strong at kidding around.].?
Mexican manager Rafael Molina, who arrived with Larios on Sunday from Tokyo, complimented the hospitality of the Filipino hosts, saying: ?We have been treated well here since we came.?
But when it came to the prospects of ?Chololo? against the hometown favorite, Molina said: ?We know that Manny Pacquiao is a great fighter and intends to make Larios look very bad. But you can expect Larios to pay back.?
To that remark, Shelly Finkel, one of Pacquiao?s American handlers, replied: ?We intend to keep treating Larios well?by ending it quickly.?
?I know that going up against Pacquiao is like a mission impossible. But I intend to show the world I can beat him,? Larios said, speaking through an interpreter.
Loose Larios
Wearing a light-colored long-sleeved shirt and slacks, Larios also looked at ease and smiled a lot while answering questions.
Molina, who once worked with the late veteran international matchmaker Lope ?Papa? Sarreal, played down Pacquiao?s hometown edge.
?There might be 20,000 Filipinos cheering for Pacquiao inside the venue. But Oscar will have only one boxer with him inside the ring. He will be his focus. The crowd doesn?t matter,? he said.
Molina pointed out that Larios, the former World Boxing Council super bantamweight champion, is used to fighting in hostile territory. ?Oscar fought several times in Japan and won impressively,? he said.
Molina told reporters and boxing fans to expect a fit, speedy and powerful Larios to face Pacquiao, although Larios is fighting at 130 pounds for the first time in his career and his past record shows that fighting beyond 122 pounds has given him problems.
?When Oscar fought and won against Ivan Alvarez at 125 and Jesus Salvador Perez at 127, those were tuneup fights and he wasn?t going in for the kill. This time it?s going to be different. He is going up against Pacquiao,? Molina said.
He stressed that Larios was a natural super featherweight and comfortable at 130, and that the two-month ?secret training? his charge had in Japan would spell the difference when the two fighters mix it up on Sunday.
On the other hand, Roach said he and his ward were not looking beyond Sunday?s match, even if they are set to face Erik Morales on November 18 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Back to workouts
?Yes, Morales is in the back of our minds right now. But Larios is in front of us. We deal with Larios first, then Morales later,? Roach said.
The two fighters resume light workouts on Friday before the official weigh-in at the same hotel starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, which will be officiated by WBC international championship referee Mauro Betti of Italy. Betti, who will be also the fight supervisor, is scheduled to arrive Friday.
