“Laban! [Fight!]”
Cebu-based promoter Rex “Wakee” Salud on Wednesday said this was the reaction of Manny Pacquiao after learning that Marco Antonio Barrera was now willing to stake his World Boxing Council super featherweight title against the Filipino ring idol.
“I talked to Manny in an overseas call from Hong Kong early today, and he said that he was willing to face Barrera again,” said Salud, who acts as one of Pacquiao’s advisers, in a telephone interview.
The last time they met on November 15, 2003, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, “PacMan,” the underdog, messed up the “Baby-Faced Assassin,” prompting the Mexican’s corner to literally throw in the towel in the 11th round.
Since that humiliating defeat, however, Barrera’s star rose once again, as he won his last four fights. This included a memorable majority decision win over fellow Mexican Erik Morales that enabled him to wrest the WBC super featherweight title on November 27, 2004, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
On the other hand, Pacquiao has also hardly skipped a beat, winning three of his last four bouts, capped by his comprehensive 10th-round conquest of Morales in their rematch at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas on January 21.
Salud said that with Barrera’s challenge, it was likely that the third match between Morales and Pacquiao would be put on hold in the meantime.
But he also said that before facing Barrera again, Pacquiao wants to give his local boxing fans the treat they have been waiting for by staging his next fight in the country.
“Pacquiao wants to push through with his local promotion first before taking on Barrera,” Salud said.
With Oscar Larios, who was touted as Pacquiao’s tuneup opponent, reportedly not inclined to come over to the Philippines, Salud said they were looking at another Mexican as the Filipino boxer’s next rival.
“I will suggest Javier Jauregui, who beat Randy Suico,” Salud said.
Ranked No. 3 in WBC super featherweight ratings, Jauregui defeated Suico by majority decision in a 10-round non-title bout on September 23, 2005, at the USC Lyon Center in Los Angeles.
Salud said Pacquiao, who is vacationing with his family and friends in Hong Kong, will return to Manila Thursday to fulfill his endorsement commitments.
He also disclosed that Pacquiao’s tuneup fight will likely be held on June 25 instead of July 2 “because ABS-CBN doesn’t want it to be close to July 4, which is an American holiday.”
The TV network, which is co-promoting the fight, plans to sell the match to its Filipino cable subscribers in the United States on a pay-per-view basis “but most of them could be out for vacation so July 2 is not advisable,” according to Salud.
“It looks like we will have the fight on June 25,” Salud added.
In an interview with a boxing website, Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s American trainer, said he would have much preferred that his ward fight Morales first, and suggested that Manny’s younger brother, Bobby, face Barrera.
“Right now, Barrera wants to be where Manny is, and that’s on top,” Roach said.
“We have to give Erik Morales his opportunity as the contract states. If Erik chooses not to fight Manny, then perhaps we’ll look at Barrera,” he said.
