LOS ANGELES: Manny Pacquiao will have to be a fighter, not a brawler, when he steps into the ring to face Hector Velazquez Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila) at the Staples Center, with a rematch against Mexican great Erik Morales in January practically at stake.
Pacquiao loves to use his powerful left fist to pound opponents into submission, but against Velazquez—a Mexican with a reputed iron jaw—the Filipino icon will have to use more of his right hand to jab and set up body punches in the other half of the “Double Trouble” card that also features Morales against former US Olympian Zahir Raheem.
“We respect him and we know he goes every round with everybody,” Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, said, making sure his ward did not underestimate his foe today. “Everybody has the rematch with Morales on their minds, but we know there is no rematch without a win over Velazquez.”
More than 80 million Filipinos are certainly hoping so, as they will be glued to their TVs watching their hero try to bounce back from a unanimous-decision loss to Morales on March 19, which brought his record to 39 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws with 31 knockouts
“It is easy to stay focused because I have a hard opponent, a tough opponent,” Pacquiao said when asked if it was hard to prepare for the Mexican with the rematch against Morales tentatively set for January 21. “We have been working more on my right [jab], so we are going to use that on this fight.”
Velasquez, on the other hand, has won four of his last five fights by knockout, improving his ledger to 42-10-2 with 31 KOs. He and Pacquiao weighed in at 130 pounds, the super featherweight limit, on Friday.
But some boxing experts consider the 30-year-old from Tijuana a question mark, because in his 10 losses, he was stopped in four fights—three in succession. His recent win streak was also crafted over fighters largely unknown outside of Mexico.
Still, he vowed to keep coming forward and press the attack on Pacquiao. “Hector Velazquez is going to give it his all,” the fighter said, speaking in the third person. “People who know me know that I am not an easy fighter, like they think. I am not going to disappoint the fans.”
A loss by Pacquiao will certainly let down the rest of his countrymen, including President Arroyo, who wished victory for “PacMan” in the 12-round bout for the World Boxing Council International super-featherweight belt.
“Dalangin ko at ng sambayanang Pilipino ang tagumpay mo, Manny [I pray with the entire Filipino people for your victory],” the President said in a statement. “Sa iyong laban bukas, kakampi mo ang buong bansa na taos-pusong naniniwala sa iyong kakayahan [The whole country will be behind you in your fight, as we believe in your skill and talent].”
Besides Pacquiao, two more Filipinos are fighting in the undercard. Brian Viloria, the Hawaii-based half-American, challenges World Boxing Council champion Eric Ortiz for the light-flyweight title, and up-and-coming Ray “Boom-Boom” Bautista takes on Felix Murillo of Colombia.
Viloria takes a 17-0 record with 11 knockouts into the scheduled 12-rounder against Ortiz, from Mexico City. Ortiz is 24-4 with one draw and 16 knockouts.
In a preliminary six-round match, Vanes Martirosyan (3-0-1) of Glendale, a 2004 US Olympian, will oppose Gerardo Prieto (4-2-1) of Mexico City.
