?PAC-MAN? & ERIK HYPE BEGAN AT PRESS CONFERENCE!
With tickets going at a rapid clip, and boxing fans abuzz over next weeks Manny Pacquiao-Erik Morales fight, the ?Boxing Media,? which for the most part is Internet driven now in 2005, everybody is scrounging about for the latest word from either man. And there in lies the problem folks, you see neither guy speaks fluent English! Thus, what you get for the most part are quips from translators instead of quotes, this as we get ready for March 19 and what will truly be a fight fan?s fight!
IT?S MANNY?S MINIONS VS. ERIK?S HOMIES!
This match has cult-like followings on both sides. And while Manny?s minions dwarf Erik?s in numbers on the Web, the Mexicans will be the majority of the paid house at the MGM Grand. The reasons are clear as Morales has fought in Las Vegas umpteen times, and his fan base for the most part are all within driving distance. And as the highways fill with the migration of Mexican boxing fans from southern California, and Morales? hometown of Tijuana, Pacquiao?s people are ferrying in from ?Little Manila,? AKA the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as the Philippines.
MANILA IS FREE TV AND TIJUANA IS PAY PER VIEW!
One thing that seems to stand out is the way these fights are being shown in the countries of Pacquiao and Morales. In Mexico, this is a huge Pay Per View event, one that will be shown in some areas on Closed Circuit TV. I?m being told that Morales-Pacquiao will not air on what we come to know as ?Free? TV for months, if ever in Mexico. In the Philippines, commercials in this fight are at record rates making this the ?Superbowl of Superbowls? as the fight will be beamed around the country on regular Network TV.
MEXICO HAS HAD MANY BOXING ICONS, PHILIPPINES NO!
The list of Mexican fighters who have reached the Icon status in the past 20 years include Julio Cesar Chavez, Carlos Zarate, Pipino Cuevas, and now Marco Antonio Barrera, and Erik Morales. For the islands of the Philippines, of which there are an estimated 7,000, they have watched Luisito Espinosa climb, fall, climb, and then finally plummet as a fighter. And while there are a couple of other noteworthy Filipino fighters, no boxer, not even the late ?Flash? Elorde, make that no athlete has ever matched the popularity of Manny Pacquiao in the country.
HOW DOES THIS PLAY A FACTOR IN THE FIGHT?
It probably doesn?t, but here is something that Pacquiao has not faced before. The American Media attention he garnered following his KO of Barrera in November of 2003, and the Draw with Marquez, it will pale in comparison to the microscope under which the two fighters will be placed beginning Monday in Las Vegas. Morales, I?ve watched him extensively since circa 1993, and he seems oblivious to the Media. Especially after the Decision was announced for Barrera in November, then we got a chance to see Erik the poor loser!
BOTH MEN HAVE HAD GOOD DAYS AND ?TWO? BAD ONES!?
Erik Morales and the ?Pac-Man? Pacquiao have both had illustrious careers to this point. Especially Morales, having won 17 of 19 title fights. Manny was the IBF 122 lb. belt bearer, engaging in four title scraps before ascending to 126 lbs. where he beat the lineal World champion Barrera, and had a Draw last May with Juan Manuel Marquez. Having won and defended, and lost the WBC 112 lb. trinket many years ago, Pacquiao is 7-1-2 with belts on the line. Still sticking to statistics, Manny Pacquiao stands at 39-2, with 31 KO?s. Erik Morales on the other hand is 47-2, with 34 KO?s. The $64,000 question here is who will lose for the third time?
CHECKING IN WITH TRAINER ROACH AT THE ?WILD CARD?
As training winds down, Trainer Freddie Roach feels Pacquiao is in the best shape he?s been in since prior to the lineal featherweight title win over Marco Antonio Barrera 16 months ago. ?He?ll spar tomorrow,? said Roach Wednesday night via telephone from the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, CA. Added Roach, ?Manny will go six rounds with ?Sugar Ray? Beltran and Justin Juuko. He?s right where I want him to be. Camp couldn?t have went any better!?
