For a tune-up fight, this one?s going to be a ball.
Manny Pacquiao?s highly anticipated return to the ring Saturday at The Global City inside The Fort in Taguig, marks the first time in more than half a year that the featherweight champion hasn?t climbed the ropes.
Fahsan 3K Battery of Thailand, Pacquiao?s opponent, is ?unheralded? compared with Pacquiao?s last two foes but the main card Saturday will still go down as the most hyped bout in local boxing history.
?I haven?t seen an event of this magnitude since the Millenium Party here at The Fort four years ago,? said Dennis Santa Cruz, in-charge of the production aspect of Saturday?s gig.
Inside the four-acre field just in front of the MC Home Depot?which can accommodate a maximum of 70,000 people?eight television screens 20 feet high will be planted around for standing patrons to get a more proximate view of the ring action.
A 32-foot canvas roof that can be raised as high as 40 feet will cover the ring area where the boxers will fight. In and around the event locale, 200 stationary lights (par lights) are expected to be used.
Ten generators will be used to supply electrical power to the one-night event, energy that is enough to provide electricity to 200 houses.
In the four-day buildup going to Saturday?s fight, it took approximately 20 different companies to supply logistics necessary for Pacquiao?s first Metro Manila-based bout in nearly 20 months.
In setting up the whole outdoor arena, 500 persons were hired this week to lend a hand. Saturday, an additional 1,500 personnel will be dispatched to carry out logistical assignments.
According to Katherine Fabian, marketing officer of The Fort Development Corp., a couple of two-hectare lots will be allotted for parking.
Just last week, the same area hosted the MTV Summit concert where an estimated 30,000 people attended.
Saturday?s bout, sponsored by Smart Communications, is expected to breach 40,000?the most since the F4 concert held inside The Global City late last year.
?This is the biggest sports event that The Fort will host,? Fabian said.
But the massive preparation for this fight obscures what the true worth is of Saturday?s bout: a tune-up to Pacquiao?s reported rematch with Mexican counterpuncher Juan Manuel Marquez in February.
Marquez and Pacquiao fought to a draw in May, the last time the Filipino southpaw defended his featherweight title.
Pacquiao, who stands to rake P16.8 million, had to wait 217 days?a personal record for inactivity?before he got into the ring again, all while being snubbed by the big names in the 126-lb division for the last seven months.
Before Marquez, Pacquiao defeated Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera in November 2003.
Pacquiao (38-2-2) will be accompanied by Puerto Rican cutman Lenny de Jesus, trainer Freddie Roach, local trainer and buddy Buboy Fernandez and veteran cornerman Lito Mondejar.
Fahsan will earn P1.4 million.
