FIRST things first.
This was the reminder of American trainer Freddie Roach to Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, who faces upset-conscious Fahsan 3K Battery of Thailand on December 6 in the headliner of the ?Yanig sa Taguig? boxing card at the Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.
In a phone interview Wednesday from Davao, where Pacquiao is training for the Fahsan fight, Roach said: ?I want Manny to finish Fahsan 3K Battery first and worry about [Marco Antonio] Barrera and the others later.?
There have been reports that Barrera, who wrested the World Boxing Council super featherweight crown from archrival Erik Morales on Saturday via a convincing majority decision, might just be drawn to a return bout with ?PacMan? on February 26, in a blockbuster card being promoted by US cable network giant Home Box Office.
Pacquiao is originally set to meet anew Juan Manuel Marquez, the reigning World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation featherweight kingpin, where each boxer is expected to get $900,000.
Roach, who was named by the prestigious Ring Magazine as the 2003 Trainer of the Year, said he wants the explosive Filipino southpaw ?to think of nothing else, but the Fahsan fight.?
He, however, praised Pacquiao for his work ethic and said the boxer looked ?great? in his training on Tuesday.
On Wednesday Roach added that he had his charge spar 10 rounds with RP lightweight champion Fernando Montilla and junior welterweight titlist Chris Saluday, adding two more rounds when Pacquiao faces his sparring mates on Friday.
Rod Nazario, Pacquiao?s business manager, said Roach and other members of Team Pacquiao would be flying in from Davao on Sunday while American promoter Murad Muhammad is arriving from the United States on Saturday.
Going back to Barrera?s future big money bouts, Murad said he believed that Barrera was not ducking Pacquiao, despite the fact that Filipino whipped him when they first met at the Alamodome on November 15, 2003 in San Antonio, Texas.
So banged up was the Mexican ?Baby Faced Assassin? that his seconds were forced to throw in the towel in the 11th round.
?He [Barrera] wants a lot of money,? said Roach as the main reason why the Mexican is playing coy about a rematch, which is being arranged by Murad.
He disclosed that Oscar Larios, the WBC super bantamweight champion, also was not interested in fighting Manny ?since his trainer told me that there was no way Larios could match the speed or power of Pacquiao if he had to move up to 126 pounds.?
Eventually, Roach added, ?Golden Boy promotions will sign up Manny for a Barrera fight,? noting that the promotional arm of Oscar dela Hoya would not pass up the chance of making millions of dollars on a potential blockbuster.
Fahsan 3K Battery and his manager, Jimmy Chaichotchaung, will arrive on Monday along with the opponent of Philippine and Orient Pacific Boxing Federation No.1 ranked super flyweight Z ?The Dream? Gorres, hard-hitting KO specialist Teerapong Distar, who has 11 knockouts in 12 wins with two defeats.
Discovery Suites will be the official home of Manny Pacquiao and the other notable personalities involved in the boxing card sponsored by Smart, Talk N? Text, PLDT and Solar Sports with the support of Taguig Mayor Freddie Tinga.
