LOS ANGELES, California — Manny Pacquiao said on Tuesday that he will just let his fists do the talking when he collides with Mexican Hector Velazquez on Saturday night.
“No comment,” Pacquiao said when asked about the predictions of a smashing victory at the Staples Center now that sports book.com has installed Pacquiao as the heavy favorite.
“Makikita ninyo na lang,” he said before boarding his big-sized SUV packed with friends from Manila and a sprinkling of acquaintances living here.
Pacquiao is listed at minus1,300, while Velazquez is plus 800. In the accompanying main event, Erik Morales is minus 850, while his American rival, Zahir Raheem is plus 550.
Although he did not exude the kind of confidence seen from him in the past, Pacquiao is looking upbeat after another day at the Wild Card Boxing Club.
Before leaving the famed sweat shop, Pacquiao horsed around with his conditioning coach Justin Fortune and even signed an autograph handed by a chubby Mexican girl, an indication that the Filipino doesn’t seem to be affected by the tension building up inside his camp.
Pacquiao finally admitted to having viewed Velazquez on tape several times and is of the belief that he can get the job done either by knockout or on points.
Freddie Roach, the man who will call the shots, doesn’t want Pacquiao to answer the bell like a gradeschooler who had just been released for summer vacation.
“If we go out there and blow him away in one round, we might need another tuneup fight before the fight (a rematch with Erik Morales),” said Roach.
“This guy (Velazquez) is tough and he can go the distance with everybody. He’s a veteran and I expect a battle in the early rounds. And I think Manny will stop him toward the end of the fight. But the thing is, we’ll get some rounds. We need them.”
Pacquiao’s scheduled super-featherweight 12-rounder is being hyped as the springboard toward the highly-awaited grudge rematch with Morales on Jan. 21 in Las Vegas.
Fortune echoed the observation of his boss but he cautioned Pacquiao not to lower his guard against a hungry fighter like Velazquez can inflict.
“Velazquez has a pretty good right hand and goes to the body well,” said Fortune, who will be joined in the corner by Filipino Buboy Fernandez and, if necessary, cutman Joe Chavez, who had worked with Oscar dela Hoya.
Roach said the 67-year-old Chavez from Mexico, is an “experienced guy and we will need him on the floor until we need him.”
Chavez has replaced New York-based Lenny de Jesus, who had worked Pacquiao’s last five fights.
After another afternoon at the gym, Pacquiao will grace a press conference on Thursday morning at the Wilshire Grand. In attendance would be Velazquez, who will be coming in from his native Tijuana, where he has been training since mid-July, shortly after he scored a convincing knockout win over Trinidad Mendoza.
The official weighin is on Friday afternoon at Staples Center.
Pacquiao parades a 39-3-2 win-loss-draw card with 30 knockouts, while Velazquez holds a 42-10-2 slate with 31 wins inside the distance.
