ALL roads will be empty on Saturday evening in Tijuana in Mexico and General Santos City in the Philippines (Sunday mid-morning to afternoon).
It is the day of reckoning.
Two of the world’s top 10 pound for pound boxers will square off atop the ring at the MGM Grand Hotel in a mega-buck pay-per-view event that has all the makings of the Fight of the Year award.
Manny Pacquiao, a native of this city and reigning lineal world featherweight champion, will face Tijuana-born Erik Morales, three times world title holder in three different weight categories.
No official titles are at stake but the explosive bout has attracted the attention of celebrities, boxing aficionados, sportswriters and avid fans from both camps.
Betting odds remain steady at 6-5 in favor of Manny, known for his moniker, “The Destroyer” as of this writing but odds makers are saying it will even up on fight night.
Polls conducted by HBO suggest 60 per cent of those polled are saying Pacquiao will win by knockout.
Laywer Tom Falgui had already offered me a “friendly” bet.
For a case of ice cold San Miguel Beer, he says the bout will not go beyond 11 rounds.
Manny by knockout
I upped the ante.
I said I’d bet the same with Manny winning inside eight rounds.
Bold predictions? Maybe.
I just think Manny is superbly more conditioned than when he fought Marco Antonino Barrera in November 2003.
Manny is the hungrier fighter and will fight the best that there is the horizon.
His draw with Juan Manuel Marquez was an aberration in Manny’s unblemished record since 2001.
Morales is seeking redemption from a heartbreaking loss to Barrera and this may not be enough against Manny’s desire to become the world’s best pound for pound boxer.
During Manny’s career-defining bout with Barrera, I rooted for him and even went to the extent of finding any takers.
Then I was willing to bet half of my month’s salary. I guessed it right, but nobody took my bet.
For his fight with Marquez, I said he would win inside seven rounds.
I was mistaken. But nobody bet against me.
During his fight with 3K Fahsan last December, I challenged a police officer who was making a call that Manny would win inside three rounds.
I dared him to place his bet against mine and I said inside five rounds.
Manny won in by a knockout in the fourth round. I was right but the police officer did not call by bet.
I hope, Tom will call my bet this time so that I could repay him for all the Chivas Regal we downed at the house of his father when we, together with Marfin Tan, watched Manny Pacquiao annihilate Barrera in the eleventh round more than a year ago.
That is if Manny does not win inside eight rounds. Right, friend?
