LOS ANGELES ? Manny Pacquiao put to use his million-dollar hands for a different purpose on Sunday, six days before an all-important rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico in Las Vegas.
Instead of lacing on a pair of gloves for beating up his sparring partners, Pacquiao opted to shoot darts with his friends using his battle-scarred hands, the same set of knuckles he will use to knock the World Boxing Council (WBC) superfeatherweight crown off Marquez?s head before an expected sellout crowd at the Mandalay Bay.
“I am confident that my hardwork and sacrifice will bear fruit,” said Pacquiao, who started the day attending morning Mass at Christ The King Church on Rossmore and Vine Street in Hollywood in preparation for his departure for Las Vegas on Monday afternoon after he works out for the very last time at the Wild Card Boxing Club under Freddie Roach.
Roach has lined up four rounds of sparring as Pacquiao enters the final stretch of his eight-week training here. In Las Vegas, Pacquiao will just hit the mitts of Roach until Thursday and should be ready to conquer the scales on Friday.
Under WBC rules, Pacquiao and Marquez must not weigh more than 130 lbs and it appears that they would cruise through the scales after tipping in at 133 and 131, respectively, over the weekend as per WBC rules.
Pacquiao steadily made his weight down after showing up at the Wild Card at 150 lbs on Jan. 16 for his first workout.
“I am truly excited and all I want is a great performance because in my last two fights, I was unimpressive,” said Pacquiao, who will be making his 13th fight on US shores.
But before Pacquiao granted a request for a short chat with a handful of Manila-based scribes, he was a picture of somebody who looked as though the big fight is way down the road and not going to take place in less than a week?s time.
He was joking around and exchanging tips with buddies inside his plush apartment unit at The Palazzo as guests from the Southern California area and even from the Philippines began to make their way and wish the fighter well.
Then came dinner time and Pacquiao shared the table with wife Jinkee and twin sister Janet plus a male friend and the Filipino scribes who have covered his every move for the past seven days.
Pacquiao ate salmon, fried on cholesterol-free oil, chicken kebab, beef nilaga and white Thai rice before spending some more time with friends and heading up to his room to call it a night.
Meanwile, Pacquiao and Marquez are going to come face-to-face on Monday at 11 a.m. at Placita Olvera in downtown LA for a press conference. Also gracing the affair are Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer and key members of each fighters?s? entourage.
After making a cameo appearance there, he will be driven back to the Wild Card to spar one last time for four rounds and by 3 p.m. he will be off to Sin City, where he will be welcomed by his Filipino fans who live there.
Pacquiao will hold his open workout at the Top Rank Gym on Tuesday and the press conference will take place at the Mandalay Bay on Wednesday.
