JUST to show that he is not underestimating Manny Pacquiao, Erik Morales left for the cold mountains north of Mexico City on Tuesday to begin high-altitude training for their March 19 pay-per-view slugfest at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
According to an Internet report, Morales left for the Otomi mountains to begin six weeks of hard high-altitude training after doing running and conditioning work in his hometown of Tijuana, Mexico.
?Pacquiao is dangerous because of his power, and I will not underestimate him for one second during our fight,? Morales said.
The Mexican ring idol said his spartan schedule will include running on the mountain paths, sparring in the afternoon and capping the day with an ?early lights out.?
?El Terible? is coming off a controversial loss to archrival Marco Antonio Barrera, who wrested his World Boxing Council super featherweight title via a split decision in November.
But instead of lying low as most ring fans would expect after a stinging loss, the popular Mexican ring idol chose to go the other way to challenge perhaps an even more dangerous foe in Filipino icon Pacquiao.
PacMan has begun his own buildup at the Wild Card gym under noted trainer Freddie Roach, who earlier said that they would go all out in attacking Morales from the opening bell.
Morales is also known as an explosive brawler who won?t back down from any opponent, which makes the March 19 bout bankrolled by American giant cable network Home Box Office one of the most anticipated fights in years.
This is in contrast to the January 30 fight of World Boxing Council featherweight titlist Injin Chi, who retained his crown via unanimous decision over Australian challenger Tommy Browne at the Grand Hilton Convention Hall in Seoul, South Korea.
It was the second title defense of the South Korean, who was once offered the chance to fight Pacquiao until talks broke down over the purse he would receive.
Certainly the purse Chi got in beating the gutsy but outclassed Australian is nowhere near the $1.75 million (about P96.25 million) Pacquiao will get in facing Morales.
Meanwhile, Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista, who plans to watch the Pacquiao-Morales bout, has been given the green light to go to the United States?a step that the promising Filipino boxer hopes will lead him to the big time and a crack at a world championship.
The 18-year-old pride of Bohol, who?s out to follow the footsteps of established ring icon Pacquiao, on Tuesday secured his US visa, paving the way for his scheduled bout against a Thai opponent in Hawaii on March 11.
Bautista, who defeated South African Vyusili Bebe via unanimous decision on Sunday at the Mandaue Coliseum in Cebu to retain his World Boxing Organization bantamweight crown, will face Phosuwonggym in a nontitle main event at the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu.
His manager, Tony Aldeguer, and trainer Ala Villamore hopes the bout will be Bautista?s launching pad to gain exposure among American fight fans.
Bautista graced the PSA Forum at the Manila Pavilion on Tuesday and expressed excitement over his prospects, and ultimately winning a world title.
?I have fought in Japan, Korea and Indonesia, but this is my first time to fight in the US,? said Bautista, sporting a black shirt and a black eye?the result of his grueling match against the gritty and wily South African.
?After the tune-up fight in Hawaii, we plan to bring him to the different gyms in California and Nevada so he can see for himself how boxers work out there,? said Sammy Gello-Ani, the promoter of the Mandaue fight, who accompanied the boxer to the forum.
