The much-awaited duel between world featherweight king Manny Pacquiao and Fahsan 3K Battery on December 11 in Taguig City has yet to be given the green light as an eliminator by the New Jersey-based International Boxing Federation.
IBF Championship Chairman Lindsey Tucker, in an interview with this writer, has informed that the IBF “has not yet received an official request from anyone about making that fight an eliminator,” hence the fight is not yet officially sanctioned as such.
The IBF official, however, did not rule out the possibility of making the bout an eliminator, considering that Pacquiao is widely-regarded as the world’s best featherweight and ranked no. 3 by the IBF while Fahsan 3K Battery is ranked no. 4 super-bantamweight by the same body.
Meanwhile, founding World Boxing Council secretary-general Rodrigo Salud yesterday expressed his unequivocal support to the December 11 mega-promotion featuring Manny Pacquiao against Thai Fahsan 3K Battery, indicating that the country needs to support a “super athlete” like Pacquiao.
“If Pacquiao doesn’t fight Marquez, Morales or Barrera all others look like a mismatch even on paper before the fight or on performance after the fight. We should not be sad about that because we have in our midst a super Filipino athlete,” Salud said in an interview during the special press conference held for the event in Pier One at the Fort in Taguig.
Fahsan worked out at the Wild Card Gym before he left for Bangkok last Sunday and Salud said he is obviously in good condition and certainly in better shape than Pacquiao right now.
“He has some power. You could see that when he punched the heavy bag. Also when he worked on the punch mitts. He has a solid left hook. Only problem is he does not have the quickness of Manny and does not have the devastating power of Manny which nobody seems to have right now. Fahsang said he is determined to score a stunning upset and become an overnight millionaire.”
Murad Muhammad left on a PAL flight to San Francisco the other day. He said this will be a “great fight because Fahsan wants to keep his unbeaten record against Filipino boxers. He says he is ready and in shape. He said he intends to knock Pacquiao out.”
