Filipino ring superstar Manny Pacquiao expressed his desire to fight next WBC No.3 super featherweight contender Humberto Soto with hopes of avenging the brutal defeat suffered by his younger brother Bobby at the hands of the Mexican power puncher.
Pacman was at the ringside when Soto punished Bobby on the way to scoring a spectacular seventh round knockout in their bloody ring war last Sunday at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York.
“I couldn’t explain what I was feeling…I felt pity for Bobby, I felt like crying. As of now, yes I want to fight Soto, I’m accepting his challenge to find out how strong he really is,” Pacquiao told www.sportinglife.com.
Manny said Soto won’t last 12 rounds against him and that the result would have been different if he was the one up against the Mexican.
Soto, for his part, is very keen on slugging it out with Pacman. He even hopes that Top Rank, his promoter, would be able to set up a showdown for him against the most exciting pound-for-pound fighter in the world today.
Theoretically, there’s no hitch in arranging a Pacquiao-Soto rumble since both fighters are both promoted by the Las Vegas-based Top Rank Inc.
However, Top Rank big boss Bob Arum has the final say as to who Pacquiao fights next as well as the date and venue of the match. Recently, Arum told Cebuano topnotch promoter Rex “Wakee” Salud he’s cutting the list of Pacquiao’s possible next foes to only two – Soto and the undefeated two-time WBO champion Joan Guzman of the Dominican Republic.
After Soto’s masterful destruction of Bobby, the weighing scale has somehow tilted in favor of the Mexican.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao was the start of the night during the 82nd Annual Boxing Writers Association of America’s Awards Dinner the other day at the Copacabana in New York City.
The 27-year-old Pacquiao received the Edward J. Neil Fighter of the Year award for 2006 pinned on his two knockout wins over Mexican legend Erik Morales and a lopsided unanimous decision victory over Oscar Larios.
