Make October 7 a red-letter day for all full-blooded fight fans of the Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao and the Mexican ring icon Erik Morales.
On Wednesday Nick Khan, one of Pacquiao’s American handlers, confirmed that the rubber match between two of the most colorful fighters in the 130-pound division will be on that date.
“October 7 is the date that has been held for Pacquiao/Morales III. Shelly [Finkel, Manny’s American manager] and I hope to be done with the deal terms within the next week or so,” Khan said in an e-mail message to Sports Times.
Finkel and Khan are negotiating with Bob Arum’s Top Rank, which has a promotions contract with Morales, who said on a Mexican boxing website on Tuesday that the October 7 rematch was a go.
Although both boxers split their last two matches, Pacquiao has gained a decisive edge in his rivalry with the Mexican, who was badly beaten and was knocked out in the l0th round the last time they met on January 21 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It was the first time in the storied career of “El Terrible” to be dropped to the canvas, his face turned into a grotesque mask by the explosive punches of his Filipino nemesis.
This humbling experience has prompted the proud warrior from Tijuana, Mexico, to get back into the ring with Pacquiao, in what promises to be another take-no-prisoners encounter.
Khan did not disclose any other details of the negotiations with Top Rank, although both boxers are bound to get an equal share of the purse, plus a percentage of the pay-per-view revenue.
In their last fight, Morales earned $2 million while Pacquiao got $1.75 million. Both fighters also reportedly earned an undisclosed amount from the pay-per-view income.
The fight date is barely over three months after the Filipino boxer’s tune-up fight against Oscar “Chololo” Larios on July 2 at the Araneta Coliseum.
Apparently, the plan of Pacquiao’s American management team is to give him just enough respite after his bout with Larios before plunging into training again to keep “PacMan” razor-sharp.
Even Canadian boxing manager Michael Koncz paid tribute to Manny’s intensity once he focuses on his preparations.
“Nobody trains as hard as Manny,” said Koncz, the promoter of Pacquiao’s brother Bobby and Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista, who lives just a short distance away from the Wild Card gym in Los Angeles.
As everyone in the boxing community knows, Freddie Roach, who handles both the Pacquiao brothers and Bautista, owns the gym.
“Manny is 110 percent in great shape. And with two to three more weeks of training, nobody can meet head-on with a tank that is Pacquiao,” Koncz said.
The Pacquiao-Larios showdown will be on pay-per-view to be distributed live to the United States by IN-Demand, making it available to Direct-TV.
ABS-CBN, the media partner of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, will broadcast the fight around the globe. It will also be viewed worldwide throughout The Filipino Channel, which reaches North America, Europe, The Middle East, Australia, Guam, Japan and other parts of Asia.
As for Larios, who reputedly has the fastest hands in boxing, Koncz said the Mexican would try to exploit his height and reach advantage to upset the hometown favorite.
“It is very hard to predict when two explosives explode. You can only take cover and hear the blasts for safety,” he said.
“Having come from the Philippines and Mexico, the two have to survive poverty and to excel, they had to fight hard and train religiously to be where they are now,” he added.
In the full 70-round card announced Thursday by MP Promotions, three other Mexican fighters are in the l0-rounders. They are Gerson Guerrero against Gerry Pe?alosa, Adrian Valdez versus Jimrex Jaca and Alejandro Felix Montiel against Bautista.
