GRAPEVINE — Manny Pacquiao wanted Jerry Jones to know he cares.
According to a report in Sports Illustrated, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton and his coaching staff were able to procure the bottle of Caymus Special Selection cabernet sauvignon wine a few weeks ago at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis that Jones had reserved at a restaurant for the next night.
Payton and his guests drank it and left the empty bottle on the table for Jones with a note that read something along the lines of — “Who Dat! From, Sean Payton.”
Pacquiao, who will take on Joshua Clottey for the WBO welterweight title Saturday at Cowboys Stadium, apparently caught wind of what happened.
On Tuesday at the Gaylord Texan, Pacquiao, as a goodwill gesture to Jones, presented the Cowboys’ owner with the same brand of wine and signed it, “To Jerry Jones, From Manny Pacquiao.”
Pacquiao and his crew, along with Jones, boxing promoter Bob Arum and a slew of celebrities and fans were on hand for an open workout.
What Roach expects
Manny Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, addressed talk from the Clottey camp about how preparing for Pacquiao’s style, and his speed specifically, is not their No. 1 concern headed into the fight.
“You can watch tape and take advantage of it; if you don’t do that you are either lying or you are an idiot,” Roach said.
“Let’s face it — styles make fights of course, but there are habits and characteristics of people that you can take advantage of. You can see speed, but you don’t really know what speed is until you get in there.”
They love some Manny
Around 500 fans, some of whom waited hours in line, showed up to catch a glimpse and maybe even snag an autograph of Manny Pacquiao.
Fort Worth resident Carmen Dugan, who is originally from the same province in the Philippines as Pacquiao, is thrilled to have him in the Metroplex.
“He is very humble even though he has all this money. He is just a good man,” Dugan said. “He never forgets where he came from. That’s why I am proud of him.”
