LOS ANGELES-Bidding to blaze his own trail to greatness, Bobby Pacquiao, elder brother of featherweight king Manny, makes his US debut against journeyman Oscar Villa tonight in the main event of a dinner-boxing show at the Quiet Cannon Montebello Country Club in Montebello, here.
Pacquiao, who tipped the scales at 131 pounds, just within the allowable limit for super featherweights in a non-title, eight-round bout, said he is happy and excited to show his wares before a crowd which is anticipating the same exciting fighting style as his brother.
Bobby has trained at the Wild Card boxing gym for the last two months and has vastly improved under the tutelage of Freddie Roach, who will be calling the shots in the corner along with Buboy Fernandez.
Matched against a fighter who has a 3-21-1 record, Pacquiao has been cautioned not to take his Mexican opponent lightly as Villa looked trim and fit, coming in at 129 pounds.
Villa himself bragged that he has trained for three months for the fight and would want to challenge Manny in the future, should he emerge victorious.
Nonito Donaire Jr., a Filipino-American who also traces his roots in General Santos City, will be in the main supporting bout of the $100-per-head dinner show. He takes on dangerous Gilberto Bola?os, 3-6-1, a 36-year-old bantam who recently beat Wild Card regular Karen Harutyunyan.
Donaire, the ?Filipino Flash? and one of two fighting brothers, too, has an 8-1 record.
The 27-year-old Pacquiao said that he has gained a lot of experience and confidence from his two-month training under Roach and has knocked down several sparring partners in the past two weeks.
Pacquiao is slated to defend his super featherweight title on Dec. 12 in Taguig in the undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s non-title fight with Fahsang 3-K Battery.
“Hindi pwedeng magkumpiyansa. Boxer daw ang kalaban, sabi ni coach (Roach),” said Pacquiao. Roach was on the winning camp’s side when Irishman Bernard Dunne won by a unanimous decision over four rounds against the game and durable Villa.
“Sana ito na rin ang maging break ko dito sa US,” added Pacquiao, who has a 20-10-3 win-loss-draw record.
