ONE round, two rounds, three rounds?
Just how long Fahsan 3K Battery can last against Manny Pacquiao will be up to the Filipino boxing hero, according to American trainer Freddie Roach on Sunday.
The Thai boxer will be fighting the hometown ring icon on Saturday in the 12-round main event of the ?Yanig sa Taguig? boxing card at the Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, which is sponsored by Smart, Talk ?N Text, Solar Sports and Discovery Suites.
In a television interview for a primer for the boxing blockbuster, Roach saw Fahsan being floored by veteran journeyman Joebar Damosmog before the Thai pug recovered to knock out the Filipino southpaw in the sixth round. The 2003 Ring Magazine Trainer of the Year said Pacquiao was in ?great shape? for Saturday?s bout after putting him through two weeks of intensive workouts in Davao City.
?Manny is ready to go to work in this fight,? Roach said, although he still cautioned his ward and local fans not too take Fahsan lightly since the Thai is a ?tough fighter, durable and trained hard for two minds.?
He reminded Pacquiao that Fahsan ?is sure to fight his best fight against him because this is an opportunity of a lifetime.? Pacquiao, Roach, Filipino trainer Buboy Fernandez and the other members of Team Pacquiao arrived from Davao City on Sunday to fulfill guest appearances on television, but would get back to work on Monday.
Roach said Pacquiao had sparred eight tough rounds on Friday and would taper off with three rounds of sparring at the Wild Card Gym in BF Homes in Para?aque City at 1 p.m. Monday after roadwork in the morning.
Roach said Pacquiao weighed around 127 pounds, one pound over the featherweight limit. Fahsan, the opponent of Philippine and Orient Pacific Boxing Federation No. 1 super flyweight Z ?The Dream? Gorres, Chai?yong Distar along with manager Jimmy Chaichotchuang, are scheduled to arrive from Bangkok Monday night in time for the press-public preview at the Wild Card Gym tomorrow.
With over 20 Filipino victims, the boxer has earned the reputation as ?The Filipino Destroyer? was inspired by the fact that international promoter Murad Muhammad had kept his promise to have him rated as a featherweight and to get the IBF to sanction the Saturday showdown as an eliminator.
The winner earn the No. 2 rating behind World Boxing Asso?ciation/IBF champion Juan Manuel Marquez.
Murad and Roach, meantime, appealed to Filipino boxing fans to come out in full force to support Pacquiao whom Roach described as ?one of the most exciting fighters in the world and the best featherweight today.?
Roach predicted that by the end of 2005 Pacquiao would have beaten Marquez, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, becoming the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
