Well-known international promoter Murad Muhammad?s official assigned to look after Ring Magazine featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao, Akbar Muhammad said yesterday that Pacquiao was in such great condition that he is ?ready to fight right now.?
Akbar, who watches over Pacquiao when he trains at the Wild Card Gym, said Pacquiao?s sparring session with Justin Juuko was ?very intense.?
He said Pacquiao was ?really working on his defense? and no matter what Juuko threw he couldn?t hurt the Filipino southpaw.
Akbar, who is an ex-marine and a former police official, said there were many Filipinos and others during Pacquiao?s sparring sessions on Saturdays which was open to the public. He said heavyweight champion James Toney acted as cheerleader during Pacquiao?s sparring and they both had a great time along with the fans.
One of the latest visitors was Lovemore N?dou, the International Boxing Federation Pan Pacific light welterweight champion who fights out of Australia.
N?dou greeted Pacquiao and wished him the best of luck in his March 19 showdown with Erik ?El Terrible? Morales at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Akbar noted that Pacquiao was ?getting faster? and his speed and devastating punching power would be too much for Morales. He noted that Morales is coming off a hard fight against Marco Antonio Barrera aside from the fact that his last three fights went the distance which will take its toll on fight night.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao?s brother, Philippine super featherweight champion Bobby Pacquiao, was a mere one-pound over the 126-pound featherweight limit on the eve of the official weigh-in for his IBF Pan Pacific title fight against champion and IBF world no. 3 Fahprakorb Rakkiatgym in the popular resort town of Pattaya, Thailand on Friday.
In an overseas telephone conversation with Manila Standard, Bobby?s manager Rod Nazario said his fighter had done ?some light workouts and will have no problems making the weight.?
Nazario said Bobby, who has slowly developed his punching power, was in good shape and determined to follow in the footsteps of his brother.
What amused Bobby and Nazario was the fact that Thai journalists, who crowded around Bobby upon his arrival in Bangkok, wanted to know whether he was ?really Bobby Pacquiao.?
They even asked for his passport and photos to check.
?This is because there are so many unscrupulous people who bring fighters here under false names and fool the public,? said Nazario.
Nazario noted that Bobby had never been to Thailand and didn?t even get a passport until his fight last year against Oscar Villa in Los Angeles but records show that he had allegedly fought in Thailand and lost to Sairung Suwanasil in a 10-round nontitle bout and then reportedly lost by KO to another Thai fighter.
The Pacquiao-Rakkiatgym fight will be telecast on a delayed basis on Feb. 27 over RPN with San Miguel Corporation and Smart as major sponsors.
