ON JANUARY 26, Manny Pacquiao finally held his first sparring session with a Mexican super featherweight who goes by the name of Raymundo “Sugar” Beltran, for three rounds.
His sparring session was however briefly halted after Beltran got socked on the eye.
Reports have it that the poor fellow received a nasty bruise on his right eyelid even though he was wearing a protective headgear used by boxers during sparring sessions.
Sparring eventually resumed but Pacquiao reportedly held his punches after that ugly incident.
Beltran is by all means a no nonsense sparring partner. He reportedly totes a respectable 16-2 win-loss record with eight knockouts.
When Manny fought Juan Manuel Marquez, he also inflicted injuries to his sparring partners, one of them a full welterweight, or 10 pounds heavier than him.
Observers say Pacquiao could run out of sparring partners the way he is seriously training for his mega-bout with Erik “El Terrible” Morales.
With still seven weeks before their pay-per-view duel, boxing aficionados are already agreed that it is one of the boxing matchups worth looking into for the year.
Fan interests have so swelled that tickets were already on sale on the day the fight was announced.
The hype was such that even no title or belt is at stake, observers say it could well define the boxing landscape for 2005.
This early, oddsmakers are picking Pacquiao a slight 6-5 favorite although betting could go either way as the March 19 scheduled bout approaches.
In an HBO poll, 67 per cent of the fans say Pacquiao would win by knockout while only 13 per cent believe Morales will stop the Filipino boxing idol.
Guess who is going to Las Vegas to watch the most anticipated bout of the year (so far)?
My source says Clement Asencio and his wife Yvonne were all set to leave next month for the Pacquiao-Marquez rematch. After the bout was put off to give way to the Pacquiao-Morales fight, Clement and his wife decided to forego their early travel plans.
Clement however said he and Yvonne are definitely going to Las Vegas to watch the fight live at the MGM Grand.
So is businessman Rey Golingan, who, together with Clement, received an invitation from GAB commissioner Eric Buhain.
City Mayor Pedro Acharon Jr. was likewise invited but has not made a firm commitment to go to the US.
Clement also told this corner that Pacquiao is making some arrangements for his US promoter Muhammad Murad to invite lawyer Franklin Gacal Jr. and a member of the local media.
Well, that would be another story if it materializes.
