HE’S NOT yet as famous as his brother, but there are strong indications that Bobby Pacquiao is well on his way to international stardom — just like boxing idol and brother, Manny.
With a guaranteed paycheck of $90,000 (about R5 million) and a tough opponent in square-jawed hitter Carlos “Famoso” Hernandez of El Salvador, Bobby is indeed going big time.
Not only that, Bobby’s showdown with Hernandez has been scheduled as the undercard in a highly-anticipated lightweight rematch between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo on Oct. 8 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Bobby, the reigning Philippine super-featherweight champion, made a splash by winning over a named opponent last month.
But local observers believe Bobby was tapped to battle the iron-chinned Hernandez in the hopes of pitting the Central American against Manny in a lucrative matchup before the year comes to a close. But that only happens if Hernandez beats Bobby.
Rod Nazario, who used to handle the affairs of Manny and Bobby, said that if he had his way, he would not allow Bobby to lock horns with the rugged 34-year-old Hernandez, a professional since 1992.
“What I am afraid of is if Hernandez absorbs all of Pacquiao’s best punches without going down. Hernandez is durable and has never been knocked out in almost 50 fights,” said Nazario.
Bobby is coming off the biggest win of his career after clobbering Carlos Navarro in the seventh round of their 12-rounder recently in California.
Hernandez, formerly a world champion, holds a 41-5-1 win-loss-draw card with 24 knockouts. All of his five defeats came on points and four came against world champions like Erik Morales, Floyd Mayweather, Jesus Chavez and Genaro Hernandez.
