LOS ANGELES – “I am very excited and am very happy that all my countrymen can watch my fight live. I will not make any predictions but I promise to do my best for my countrymen and to make the Filipino people happy.”
That was Filipino super featherweight champion Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao talking to the media at the Avalon Room of the Bonaventure Hotel last May 19 to announce his fight against Mexico’s Oscar “Chololo” Larios this July 2 at the Araneta Coliseum in the Philippines. The event will be shown in the U.S. on Pay-Per-View on July 1 beginning at 9:00 pm ET/6:00 pm PT from the Philippines.
According to Shelly Finkel, one of Pacquiao’s managers, “Manny is a magnet for people watching. He attracts viewers and audiences and I am sure he will do well.”
Of Larios, Pacquiao said, “He is not an easy opponent but I am faster than him. I am very confident of my abilities. I will try to make my countrymen happy and not disappoint them.”
In an interview with Philippine News, Pacquiao also added that he has been praying to God “that I will do well so I can help my countrymen.”
Pacquiao, who will go mano-a-mano in a 12-round championship bout in Araneta Coliseum which hosted the Ali-Frazier’s “Thrilla in Manila” nearly 31 years ago, will be defending his WBC International super featherweight title and mandatory challenger position against former world champion and No. 1 contender Larios on July 2, Sunday in the Philippines (televised live July 1 in the US.
Finkel also revealed that Pacquiao “is not taking this fight lightly. He is training here in LA not in the Philippines and he will return to the Philippines ready to be challenged. It is a pleasure working with him.”
Larios, from Guadalajara, Mexico, on the other hand, is looking forward to meeting “The Golden Boy” Manny Pacquiao and said through an interpreter, “I will do my best to make it a great fight.”
Larios won his first world championship in his 49th professional bout on May 17, 2002, knocking out nemesis Israel Vasquez in the 12th round to earn the WBC interim super bantamweight title.
Pacquiao, from General Santos City, returns to the ring fresh from his dramatic and historic victory in January where he dealt future Hall-of-Famer Erik Morales his first-ever knockout loss, stopping the three-division world championship in the 10th round, utilizing his secret weapon — the savage punch known as “Manila Ice.”
According to Pacquiao, there will be another match with Morales in October of this year.
A former WBC flyweight and IBF junior featherweight champion, Pacquiao is the No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger to WBC 130-pound champion Barrera and a consensus Top-3 “Pound-for-Pound” fighter. He is trained by Freddie Roach.
Pacquiao, whose life story is also being made into a movie here in Los Angeles, is a lefthander known for his speed and balanced movement.
The Pacquiao-Larios Pay-Per-View will be distributed live to the U.S. by In-Demand affiliates including Comcast and Direct TV. ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation in the Philippines will broadcast the fight live around the globe.
