LAS VEGAS — What?s in a name? Depends on how you pronounce it, as a ?famous personage from the Philippines? unfortunately found out.
Bob Arum, chief executive officer of Top Rank, was rattling the names of the Manny Pacquiao side of the presidential table during the press conference of the ?Dream Match? Wednesday at the Hollywood Theater of the MGM Grand, site of the December 6 jaw-busting contest between the acknowledged pound-for-pound champion of the world and Oscar De La Hoya.
Arum had already introduced Pacquiao?s lawyer Franklin Gacal and adviser Rex ?Wakee? Salud when he realized he did not recognize the guy dressed in a buttoned-down orange shirt seated at the end of the table.
He rushed to Pacquiao, the two exchanged whispers, and Arum returned to the podium, saying: ?And now we have a very famous personage from the Philippines, Governor Takasan.?
Pacquiao hurriedly faced Arum and whispered a correction out loud, but the veteran promoter still got it all wrong.
?Taka-jingson?Whatever? Arum said, drawing thigh-slapping guffaws from American journalists, including one from the Los Angeles Times, who even blogged about the incident on the paper?s online version.
The person was no less than the whistleblower who brought down a presidency, former Ilocos Sur governor Luis ?Chavit? Singson. Arum tried to quell the situation by quickly introducing Pacquiao?s trainer Freddie Roach, but he still couldn?t help but take one final dig: ?And now my favorite, a guy whose name I can pronounce??
Apparently, Singson was a last-minute replacement for MP Productions head Rogelio Pacquiao, Manny?s brother, at the presidential table. Singson?s spot still had Rogelio?s name card facing the audience.
Singson, whose gambling revelations led to the impeachment of Pres. Joseph Estrada, tried to keep a game face until the lapse blew over.
After all, what?s in a name?
Nothing, if you ask Angelo Dundee.
The legendary trainer said the De La Hoya-Pacquiao slugfest is a sure-fire blockbuster especially because the two fighters refuse to back down and are willing to engage in a phone-booth brawl.
Not only that, Pacquiao and De La Hoya are the biggest names in the sport right now, never mind if Americans still trip over the Filipino champion?s name.
?Here?s a kid who, half the time, we have a tough time spelling his name. But we know him as the Pacman,? Dundee said.
And speaking of names, De La Hoya made a play on his own name when interviewed by journalists at the end of the press conference, which lasted close to two hours.
?When you want to win an Oscar [award], you?ll do anything you can to win an Oscar,? De La Hoya said. ?That?s what they?ve done. They jumped up two weight classes and they?re looking for that Oscar.?
De La Hoya owed that when the bell rings at around 9 a.m. local time (around 1 p.m. in Manila), Pacquiao will find an Oscar that will do everything he can to win a fight where even he admits he has everything to lose.
?We can either box, we can either brawl or we can even counter-punch him,? De La Hoya said.
?I would be disappointed if I don?t stop him because this type of fight calls for a knockout,? the 35-year-old former Olympic gold medalist added. ?This type of fight, you get two fighters who are going to fight. If Manny Pacquaio hits me with a good shot, hey, let?s fight. I?m going to bite into my mouthpiece and let?s fight.?
De La Hoya said he is not letting his edge in height and weight lull him into thinking he?ll be simply bullying a shrimp of a kid in a schoolyard, calling Pacquiao yet another name.
?I prepared for King Kong,? said the six-division champion.
Pacquiao, on the other hand, continues to train without the nuisance of trying to make the weight. With the fight pegged at the welterweight limit of 147 lbs, Asia?s only four-division champ hasn?t found the need to cut down on food.
Two days before the weigh-in, the 29-year-old General Santos City native reportedly tipped the scales at 145 lbs, with De La Hoya at an even lighter 143.8.
?It doesn?t matter, fighting at 147,? said Pacquiao, currently a +135 underdog in the match. ?It?s not a big [issue] because I fight a lot of bigger fighters in sparring.?
Making this special for Pacquiao is the fact that this match ?will make my name known not only in the Philippines but in the whole world.?
?This is going to [be part of] boxing history,? said the Pacman. ?Fifty years from now, people will still remember this fight.?
Pacquiao said he draws a lot of motivation from the fact that De La Hoya continues to be a favorite for the fight. He reminded reporters that bigger odds — 4-1 to be exact — were against him in his 2003 fight against Marco Antonio Barera, the Mexican legend Pacquiao eventually forced to quit in 11 brutal rounds in San Antonio.
?I always believe in myself,? Pacquiao said.
