ORTIGAS, Pasig City ? Making the weight limits was never a problem. But can the fighters display their full potentials in a morning fight?
All protagonists of the ?Mano-A-Mano: Pilipinas contra Mexico? are raring to go, including Manny Pacquiao (41-3-2, 33 KOs) and Oscar Larios (56-4-1, 61KOs), who made their respective weight limits easily at first try.
Today, the fight starts at 8 a.m. at the Araneta Coliseum and as expected, the Filipino fighters are going to make life hard for the Mexican visitors.
However, how effective will they be in a morning fight? The card is scheduled in the morning to draw the PPV market in the US.
It?s not just the Filipinos who are not used to fight in the morning but also the Mexicans and the lone Russian in the card, Rustam Nugaev.
Adapt
Pacquiao?s chief trainer Freddie Roach believes that everybody will fight below their full capability.
?We?ve done the best possible ways to adapt (to a morning fight). Personally, I don?t like it but it?s the TV that has the say.
The pay-per-view makes a lot of money. Fighting in the morning doesn?t really give the best, much more if this is your first time,? Roach told Sun.Star Cebu.
Lennox Lewis lost his WBC, IBF and IBO heavyweight title by 5th round upset KO loss to Hasim Rachman on April 22, 2001 at the Carnival City in South Africa, in a fight also held in the morning.
?Yeah, I know (about that fight). All boxers will have hard time to adapt to this. That is why I changed the training program schedule of Manny. We started at 4 a.m. and trained harder in the morning for the past 12 days. But I believe it is not enough,? added Roach.
Rules meeting
Pacquiao, who will put his WBC International super featherweight title on the line today, weighed in at 129.5 pounds, while Larios, the two-time world super-bantamweight king, tipped in at 129 pounds, during the official weigh-in supervised by WBC International president Mario Betti and Games and Amusement Board chairman Eric Buhain.
The weigh-in was preceded by the rules meeting with Betti and the four officials, who will be working in the main event.
Philippine-based Bruce McTavish is the third man in the ring, while Humbert Furgoni of France, Daniel Van de Wiele of Belgium and Noppharat Sricharoen of Thailand are the scoring judges.
Michael Buffer, the legendary voice behind the ?Let?s Get Ready To Rumble? line, will be the ring announcer of the main event.
The fighters in the undercard also had no problems making their weights.
Other fighters
ALA Boy Czar Amonsot (16-1-1, 10 KOs) and Silverio Ortiz (17-9, 7 KOs), who will fight at 8 a.m. today, both tipped in at 133.5 pounds. Gerry Pe?alosa (49-5-2, 33 KOs), who trained with Pacquiao at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, scaled in at 118 pounds. His opponent Tomas Rojas (22-8, 14 KOs) weighed in at 117 pounds and Jimrex Jaca (25-2-1, 12KOs) and his opponent Hector Javier Marquez (28-16, 21 KOs) tipped in at 129 pounds.
SGG stable?s Michael Domingo (20-12-3, 7 KOs), who is scheduled to appear on the final bout, weighed 120.5 pounds, while his opponent Felix Alejandro Montiel (51-7, 30 KOs) weighed in at 120.
Meanwhile, Roach thinks Pacquiao has the advantage.
?Manny is much more complete fighter (than Larios). Admittedly, Larios is in a very good shape and he is tall, but he is slow. He only gets his momentum as the fight goes on. He is a decent puncher but he is not a great puncher. The only best thing for him is that he is in good condition.?
?I want Manny to go as quickly as possible. If we go to the belly early, the fight will end at most by six rounds. But we are prepared to fight the full distance.?
