SOME GOOD NEWS COMING OUT OF THE PHILIPPINES
Las Vegas, NV- After recently watching a nightly news broadcast from the Philippines, it seems that the only news worth smiling about was Manny Pacquiao’s arrival here and Philippine boxing in general. After twenty minutes of depressing news, it was time for their daily update on Philippine hero, Manny Pacquiao. This time the mood of the story was upbeat as fans awaited his arrival at the Wynn Hotel in chilly Las Vegas. Clearly, this is one of the biggest events in Philippines sports history, and a whole country hopes that they’ll finally get the good news they’ve been waiting for come Sunday afternoon Philippines time.
WILL CROWD BE SPLIT 50-50 AT THOMAS & MACK?
The support for Pacman could reach its highest level ever should Filipinos equal the amount of Erik Morales fans in the 17,000+-seat arena on the UNLV campus. Las Vegas has generally been known as Morales country, but promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank has stated in many reports that Filipino and Mexicans fans could be split evenly setting a precedent. In almost every fight Pacquiao has had in the United States (with the exception of a fight in San Francisco—a city with a large Filipino community), he has been booed more than cheered. In the weeks leading up to the first Morales match, everywhere Manny went people were singing his praise. He did not meet a hater in any open training session during camp. However, as he entered the MGM arena, it was to the sound of boos from Morales’ fans. In this Saturday’s rematch, it’ll be interesting to see the reception Pacquiao gets from the audience.
NO EXPERIENCE IN REMATCHES
In addition to possibly entering a friendly reception for the first time, Manny Pacquiao will also fight the same opponent for a second time. In close fights against Nedal Hussien, Agapito Sanchez, and Juan Manuel Marquez, re-matches were negotiated but eventually fell apart. After Erik Morales dropped a lopsided decision to Zahir Raheem last September, fans expected the respective fighters to go their separate ways. However, Pacquiao wanted his revenge against “El Terrible” and agreed to stage the re-match. Hussien and the recently deceased Sanchez claimed that they had figured out the Pacquiao puzzle and would have won a rematch. Morales studied and adapted Marquez’s plan of attack against Pacquiao. Now, it’s up to Pacquiao to learn from his mistakes, and make enough adjustments to win in his second chance against Morales.
WIN OR LOSE, PACMAN NEEDS HIS OWN SHOW
If Filipino fans are able to equal, or outdraw, the Mexican fans in the Thomas and Mack Center, then clearly Pacquiao is a real draw, one that can hold a card on his own. Even with no public workouts, and a media blackout during his first stage of training, Pacquiao took the lead in promoting the PPV fight. At the tail end of camp he held one media workout in Los Angeles, and just last Tuesday held a media workout in Las Vegas, while Morales elected to fly in later that night. Promoter Gary Shaw finally has a West Coast fighter he can promote up and down the Coast, drawing big cards in most major cities.
NO NEED FOR A RUBBER MATCH!
Should Pacquiao win his fight against Morales, Top Rank does have the option of an immediate rematch, which is a clause in the contract. Many people questioned why this fight was on PPV because Morales had lost so badly to Raheem. How would they react if Morales would headline a PPV again, losing three out of his last four bouts? The loss to Raheem eliminated the interest of an immediate rubber match since both fighters are desperate for a win and losing is not an option. Morales cannot afford to lose three out of his last four fights, and the clause for a rubber match gives Morales another chance to redeem himself. Obviously, if Pacquiao loses to Morales, there will be no rubber match, which illustrates the importance for Pacquiao. I just feel Morales should also share in the importance of this fight. I can only justify an immediate rubber should the decision in this Saturday’s fight be a razor thin split decision win for the Pacman.
QUICK JABS
JACA IN THE BATTLE: Filipino fans should come early to the Thomas and Mack center, as young Filipino super featherweight prospect Jimrex Jaca, 24-1-1, (11 KO’s), opens the show against a tough journeyman from Arizona, John Nolasco, 15-4-4, (6 KO’s). Born in the Dominican Republic, Nolasco took another prospect Jason Litzau, 16-0, (14 KO’s) into deep water in his last fight, losing a razor thin split decision. However, Jaca has an excellent jab and great power in the right hand as he holds a first round knockout over Bobby Pacquiao…ZAHIR RAHEEM OUT, JUAN MARQUEZ IN? It’s obvious that not only has the super featherweight division consistently provided fight of the year bouts, but it has also been profitable to the promoters. The battle with Morales and Pacquiao could kick off a series of compelling match-ups in the 130 lb. division. However, fans do not want to see the same match-up recycled between Marco Antonio Barrera, Morales, and Pacquiao. A forth fighter must enter the equation. But don’t look at Morales beater Zahir Raheem as the fourth horseman because the fights may not be competitive. Raheem’s beat down of Morales was no fluke; the kid is a tough Philly fighter to beat. He’s bigger than Morales, equal hand speed to Pacquiao, and more ring generalship than Barrera. It would be smart if Raheem stayed a lightweight and have Juan Manuel Marquez move a division and fight the stars at jr. lightweight.
