LOS ANGELES – Manny Pacquiao is not only a world-class boxer. He’s a world champion public relations man, too. This he proved Friday (Saturday in Manila).
Upon entering the Bonaventure Hotel here for his second meeting with the press and Mexico’s Oscar Larios for their July 2 fight in Manila, Pacquiao’s opening salvo was “Go Clippers.”
That drew a big cheer from the press, most of them from Los Angeles, the home of the National Basketball Association’s Clippers and Lakers.
He then broke the house down by admitting to have “won a bet and a fistful of dollars” for the Clippers’ 118-106 win over the Phoenix Suns the night before the conference.
On November 15, 2003, when he went up the ring at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas for his fight against Marco Antonio Barrera, he wore a San Antonio Spurs jersey, virtually disarming the predominantly Mexican crowd supporting their countryman Barrera.
“PacMan” stopped Barrera in the 11th round, starting his rise to boxing stardom.
As in their April 28 press conference in Manila, the General Santos City native refused to predict if he will knock out Larios or in what round it will happen when they clash at the historic Araneta Coliseum.
Larios was not upset his Filipino opponent got all the attention during the press conference.
“After the fight, I know the attention will be mine,” he said.
Larios said he will remain calm until July as “an antidote that will allow me to resist the ‘poison’ that is Pacquiao.”
Mexican manager Rafael Mendoza said Larios returns Sunday to Mexico, where he will stay for two more weeks before flying to Tokyo, where he wants to acclimatize for the uncertain weather in Manila.
