Mexican boxer Oscar Larios will go down in four rounds or less when he and Filipino boxing idol Manny Pacquiao tangle in the headliner of the “Mano-a-Mano” fight Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum, the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) president said Saturday.
“[Pacquiao] will win in a short distance. Lower than [five rounds],” Manny Lopez told reporters at the weekly Kapihan sa Sulo news forum.
“You can bet your last peso Pacquiao [will win this fight,]” the ABAP chief added.
Lopez said he sees a number of reasons for Larios’s early fall.
He said Larios just came from a knockdown in his fight against fellow Mexican Israel “Magnifico” Vazquez. Larios was knocked down in three rounds during the December 2005 fight.
Lopez said Larios is a “glass joe,” a term used in the boxing world for boxers who have a weak jaw.
Aside from Pacquiao’s hometown advantage, Lopez said the Filipino boxing hero is more aggressive and has more fighting styles than the Mexican.
Another factor, Lopez said, is Larios’s going up to the super featherweight from the bantamweight category. The Mexican had to add eight pounds to be able to match Pacquiao’s 129.5-pound weight.
At the forum, Lopez said that in Las Vegas odds are at 8-1 for Pacquiao to beat Larios.
Pacquiao will get $1 million while Larios will receive $450,000 in the fight at the Big Dome, also the site of the 1975 “Thrilla in Manila” featuring boxing greats Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
