MANILA, Philippines—Manny Pacquiao has two words for the fighter who is lining himself up as a possible opponent for the Filipino ring sensation.
Be careful.
Pacquiao, recently awarded the Fighter of the Year trophy by American boxing scribes, issued the warning on the eve of the match between younger brother Bobby and Mexican Humberto Soto today at the Madison Square Garden in New York.
“I know Humberto Soto wants to take a crack at me in the near future,” Pacquiao said in Filipino in a recent interview. “And he wants to beat up my younger brother on the way there. But, he better be careful.”
“He might end up being beat up by Bobby instead,” added Pacquiao.
The Pacquiao-Soto bout, which will be aired by RPN-9 starting at 10 a.m. today, will serve as the chief support to the WBA welterweight defense of Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto against American Zab Judah (See related story on A31).
The card is being dubbed “X-plosive” by promoter Top Rank.
At yesterday’s weigh-in, both Pacquiao and Soto came in at 131 lbs for the non-title bout.
But despite no championship being put on the line, the fight carries an air of importance as the winner of this contest will most likely end up being installed as the mandatory challenger to WBC superfeatherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez.
Manny Pacquiao had earlier passed up on his mandatory challenger status, telling the WBC to award it to another fighter.
Soto (41-5-2, 25 KO’s) has been unbeaten since 2002. His last defeat was a majority decision loss at the hands of Kevin Kelley, whom Bobby Pacquiao stopped also at the Madison Square Garden only last year.
“Bobby has been working so hard for this fight,” said American trainer Freddie Roach. “I won’t be surprised if he pulls it off, and we are even thinking of ending this via knockout.”
Roach will be working the younger Pacquiao’s corner with Filipino Buboy Fernandez.
Pacquiao (27-12-3, 12 KO’s) is considered a late-bloomer of a fighter, having shown his promise only lately when his more illustrious brother started carving a name for himself in world boxing.
Bobby has been 14-3 since 2001, the year his older brother Manny Pacquiao stormed the boxing world with a sensational sixth-round stoppage over then IBF champion Lehlohonolo Ledwaba.
His last fight was a disaster as he failed to make the weight first and then eventually ended up losing to Mexican Hector Velasquez via disqualification in Las Vegas in November last year. Had he not been waved off for repeated low blows, Pacquiao would have won via decision as he was ahead in the scorecards.
