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PACQUIAO RUMBLES WITH SOLIS; VILORIA, CONCEPCION TO SPICE UP CARD By Salven L. Lagumbay PhilBoxing.com Sat, 14 Apr 2007 Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao will stake all the marbles today when he defends his WBC International superfeatherweight title against undefeated Mexican Jorge Solis in a 12-round brawl at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The southpaw Pacquiao (43-3-2, 34 KO's) has been tabbed as a heavy favorite to win the fight, but Solis (32-0-2, 23 KO's) says he is capable of beating the iconic Pacman, insisting that he doesn't know how to lose. GMA-7 Network and Solar Sports will air the fight starting at 9AM, although 'live' telecast in Cebu will be held at the Casino Espanol, Marriott Hotel, as well as the Mandaue Sports Complex and the New Cebu City Coliseum. Veteran sportscasters Chino Trinidad, Quinito Henson and boxing scholar Hermie Rivera will provide blow-by-blow analysis of the fights from ringside for the millions of Filipino fans who will be glued on their television seats to see the fights today. Two Filipinos are seeing action in the undercard, as Brian Viloria takes on Mexican Edgar Sosa for the vacant WBC light-flyweight title and Bernabe Concepcion defends his WBC Youth superbantam crown against American Benjamin Flores. A third Filipino fighter, Ernel Fontanilla, is set to face Torrence Daniels in a 'swing fight,' which will happen if one of the televised fights ends abruptly. If victorious today, Pacquiao has been installed by the WBC as the next challenger to WBC superfeatherweight king Juan Manuel Marquez, who recently defeated Marco Antonio Barrera for the title. The third man for today's fight will be Vic Drakulich, who also called the shots for the Pacquiao-Eric Morales rubbermatch. Judges are Larry O'Connell, Gale Van Hoy and Oren Shellenberger. WEIGH-IN At yesterday's weigh-in, Pacquiao easily made weight, coming in at 128.75 right in his first try at the scales. Solis, for his part, only made weight after an hour of trying and three attempts earlier. His first try was 130.5 lbs, then 130.125 before finally hitting the 130 mark. He stripped naked and took off his necklace in a desperate effort to make weight. "Hindi nahirapan sa timbang si Manny. He looks very chiseled. Ang galing ng kundisyon. As for Solis, it seems he is having a hard time making the weight," reported Chicago-based Rolando Hiso, who took a long flight from Windy City just to be at ringside for the fights. NEW TECHNIQUES Pacquiao, in an interview with scribes in General Santos City, said that they are preparing new techniques to be used for Solis. "May ibang techniques kaming i-aaply dahil sa style ni Jorge Solis. So you will see the new techniques tomorrow," Pacquiao stated. Pacquiao also said that he is delighted to know that his political rivals incumbent Congresswoman Darlene Antonino-Custodio and Mayor Pedro Acharon will reportedly watch his fight at the free viewing inside the Lagao gym in General Santos City today. "Masaya ako na manood sila. Yan naman ang gusto ko. Kalimutan muna natin ang politika," added Pacquiao. SOLIS' PLAN Pacquiao knows that Solis will be coming into the fight with everything. "Solis can punch. I'm not undeestimating his power. Plus, he knows he's in the fight of his life. This is his big chance," said the Pacman in an interview with Boxingtalk. Solis, however, appears to have studied Pacquiao's style so well, that his team is almost sure of a major upset. "The key to this fight will be movement. I know Pacquiao is going to throw a lot of punches, but if I keep moving and he isn't hitting anything, eventually he's going to get tired," the Mexican told Boxingtalk. PACQUIAO-SOLIS TALE OF THE TAPE MANNY PACQUIAO JORGE SOLIS Pacman Nickname Coloradito 43-3-2, 34 KO's Record 32-0-2, 23 KO's 5'6 1/2 Height 5'8 1/2 28 Age 27 Southpaw Style Orthodox 79% KO Percentage 72% Gen. Santos City Hometown Guadalajara, Mexico Freddie Roach Trainer Jose Reynoso Self Manager Jesus Rivero VILORIA, CONCEPCION SPICE UP UNDERCARD Fil-American Brian 'Hawaiian Punch' Viloria and Filipino Bernabe Concepcion will be facing separate rivals in today's undercard of the 'Blaze of Glory' at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Viloria guns for the vacant WBC light-flyweight title against Mexican Edgar Sosa in a 12-round scrap to fill the void left when another Mexican Omar Nino was stripped of the title for failing a drug test following his rematch with Viloria. Viloria (19-1, 12 KO's), who is now trained one-on-one by Joe Goossen, says he is going back to the basics in this fight against Sosa (26-5, 14 KO's). The winner of this bout moves on to defend the title against Omar Nino, if he comes out clean from any illegal substance. Both Viloria and Sosa came in at 108 lbs at yesterday's weigh-in, although Viloria came in a bit over the limit on his first try at the scales. Third man on the ring for the Romero-Sosa fight is Benjy Esteves Jr, while judges are Burt Clements, Max Deluca, and Jesse Reyes. Bernabe Concepcion, meanwhile, is expected to have his hands full when he defends his WBC Youth superbantam title against former club fighter Benjamin Flores. Concepcion (20-1-1, 11 KO's) has been training at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, and is reportedly in tremendous shape for the fight. However, the Houston, Texas fighter Flores (14-2, 4 KO's), who had fought as a featherweight and super-featherweight in the past, has told Boxingtalk that he is fighting the fight of his life, and will be ready for whatever Concepcion brings to the dance. Concepcion came in at 121.5 while Flores tipped the scales at 120.5 at yesterday's weigh-in held inside the Alamodome. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Salven L. Lagumbay.  |
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