BEVERLY HILLS, California ? He walked toward the corner, briefly stopping to smile for the paparazzi that gathered to take shots of him. On his way, he saw a baby piano and was tempted to play with the keys. Again, the fotogs had a field day; clicking away to document this star?s every move. But it?s a good thing still cameras aren?t able to record audio. Hard as he attempted to play a decent melody, he failed miserably.
But so what if he couldn?t create music from the piano? Manny Pacquiao has made bigger things happen in the ring. Though he tried, the left-handed slugger isn?t used to softly striking the black and white keys of the musical instrument. Instead, he has trained to throw hard-hitting punches.
On Jan. 12, 2005, Pacquiao started his day early. At 9 a.m., he showed up at the Beverly Hills Hotel located on Sunset Boulevard in the posh neighborhood of Beverly Hills 90210 in California, ready for the pre-match shoot and promotional materials for his approaching fight. He seemed to be in a good mood, chatting and even joking with some of the Filipino American press people.
He left the Philippines on January 8th aboard Philippine Airlines flight PR102, thinking that he was on his way to a much-anticipated rematch against Juan Manuel Marquez. Two days later, he found out there have been some changes in the scheduled fight. And it didn?t only involve the date ? from Feb. 26 to March 19 ? they also changed his opponent.
“For some reason, Marquez felt that he was entitled to more money than what was there. Now we don?t fault him because people try to get all they can get,” Murad Muhammad, Pacquiao?s American promoter, said during the press conference that followed the pre-match shoot and pictorial. The same press conference announced the Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao vs. Erik “El Terrible” Morales slugfest set for March 19, 2005 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Top Rank and M&M Sports planned to keep this a secret until the formal announcement at the press conference last Wednesday (Thursday, Manila time). But some sources have managed to leak the scoop beforehand. The news not surprisingly generated wider public interest among the Filipino and Latino communities.
“Everyone?s really surprised,” said Frank Nazario, Los Angeles-based life insurance specialist who?s also the nephew of Rod Nazario, Pacquiao?s business manager. “I?m sure it?s a blessing to all the boxing fans that it?s going to be a reality, Morales against Pacquiao.”
“Mas maganda. Mas maganda ang laban dahil mas maganda pangalan nitong Morales,” said Frank?s father, Alberto Nazario. Both were present at the press conference to support Pacquiao.
Not only are the Filipino fans happy, even people close to Pacquiao have welcomed the news positively.
“I was very happy. This is the fight that I wanted. This is the one that I?ve been thinking about for a long time because he?s considered one of the best guys out there,” said Freddie Roach, PacMan?s American trainer. “He?s the most popular Mexican fighter in the world. He does better pay-per-view book buys than any Mexican fighter out there. So I?d rather fight this guy. Because this is a much more exciting fight ?cause it sells.”
For Paquiao, the change in opponent is not as big as the change in the date.
“Hindi naman. Inaasahan ko na iyon na ?pag hindi si Marquez, si Morales. Kahit sino naman sa kanila e. Sa akin, ok lang kahit si Marquez or si Morales,” he said about his opponent. He added that the date of the match that was pushed back is a good thing for him. “Nakabuti sa akin iyon. Kasi mahaba pa ang panahon para sa preparation. So mas maganda ?yan.”
Observers say this will give Pacquiao more time to train, especially after his month-long birthday celebration in the Philippines.
“Kagagaling lang sa laban e. How many weeks lang ?yun. Sabihin na natin nandun ?yung party pero di pa rin naming pinapabayaan ?yun,” defended Buboy Fernandez, referring to the December 11th 2004 fight of PacMan where he TKO?d Fahsan Thawatchai in front of an estimated crowd of 25,000 at the Fort in Taguig City, Philippines.
Here in Los Angeles, Pacquiao seems determined to get back in shape and make up for his month-long partying. His daily training includes running in Griffith Park at 6 a.m. and working out at Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood. According to Roach, he only requires Pacquiao to train from Mondays-Saturdays. But his ward refuses to take Sundays off.
“So he?ll still run on Sundays. But he won?t go to the gym anymore,” Roach said. “When he works he?s very disciplined. And when he?s with me, I have control over that. So he looks up to me, he listens to me. So nothing but work from now ?til the fight.”
Roach added that they are taking this fight seriously and vowed to leave no stone unturned. At 5-8 and 130 lbs., Morales is a little bit taller than the 5-6.5 and 126-pound Pacquiao. And this might be a problem for the Filipino boxing hero.
“Yes it could be because this is the first time that Manny would be fighting 130 pounds. It?s only four pounds heavier than his normal weight. It?s not a lot. But it makes a little bit difference because he?s (Morales) a little bit taller. It poses a few problems. But I think Manny at 130 (lbs) will even be stronger than he was at 126 (lbs). And I think he?ll hit even harder. So it could be to our advantage,” said Roach.
“Manny, maraming nag-aalala kasi mukhang mas malaki sa iyo si Morales,” this reporter asked him seriously in an interview before the press conference.
The slugger kept silent for a few seconds and appeared to be thinking of his reply. After a while, he looked the interviewer straight in the eye and said, “Ako nga rin, nag-aalala e.”
That?s PacMan for you, and perhaps, that?s the Filipino in him ? always finding humor in everything. He was quick to add, however, that he actually admired Morales.
“Actually, magaling si Morales. Idol ko nga si Morales e,” said Pacquiao.
On his end, Morales also thinks highly of Pacquiao. It was said that even before he was invited to a match against the Filipino fighter, he was already asking for a day with him in the ring.
“I?ve always been interested in fighting the best fighters and without a doubt, he?s one of the best fighters out there right now,” Morales said.
When asked about the controversial Pacquiao-Marquez fight, the Mexican slugger had this to say: “As a Mexican it hurts me to say this, but I thought Pacquiao won. He knocked him down three times. A lot of guys never get the disadvantaged and beat up. But I?m surprised it was a draw.”
The two exchanged punches in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Philippine boxing icon fought to a 12-round draw against the International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Association (WBA) Featherweight champion. Pacquiao scored three knockdowns in the first round and injured Marquez?s nose badly which bled all throughout the fight. But Marquez showed heart and determination as he gradually recovered and boxed effectively in the succeeding rounds.
The Mexican slugger swept rounds three to six on two judges? scorecards. He even managed to cut Pacquiao over his right eye. In the end, the final scores were 115-110 Marquez, 115-110 Pacquiao, 113-113.
“We felt we won in the first round. But one of the judges didn?t know how to add,” Muhammad said.
Pacquiao is now set to fight another Mexican, once again in Las Vegas. Fernando Beltran, the Mexican adviser of Morales had this to say during the press conference: “For sure, it?s not going to be 50-50 on the audience. It?s going be at least 80-20 (in favor of) Mexico ? Filipinas. At least, 80-20.”
On January 19th 2005, PacMan will be in Mexico City to promote the fight.
