THE whole nation, from Aparri to Jolo, will stand united again today as it hopes and prays of a victory for Manny Pacquiao, who will step into the ring to face another ambitious but dangerous Mexican opponent by the name of Oscar Larios.
Pacquiao, who has inspired the Filipino people no end with his triumphs atop the ring, square off with Larios in a 12-round WBC super featherweight showdown at the historic Araneta Coliseum, where the legendary Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier engaged in a classic heavyweight clash in 1975.
Both Pacquiao and Larios made the weigh easily in yesterday’s weigh-in at the Discovery Suites in Ortigas. Pacquiao came in at 129.5 lbs. while Larios tipped the scales at 129.
While Pacquiao, the 27-year-old bomber from General Santos City, is heavily favored to prevail over the Mexican hombre because of his speed and power, his stamina remains a big question in this fight.
Pacquiao trained only for six weeks for the fight, with most of his training regimen conducted by Freddie Roach at his Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California.
Larios, on the other hand, had at least eight weeks of training in Mexico and Japan and could be holding an edge when it comes to stamina.
There is a feeling that Larios, a former world super bantamweight champion, is going to fight Pacquiao from a distance and dance around in the early rounds with the intention of tiring the Filipino fighter.
The Mexican boxer is then expected to slug it out and go for the kill in the later rounds should Pacquiao indeed will start losing steam.
“I came here to win,” Larios blurted out to journalists when he arrived last Sunday.
But, the Pacquiao camp is unfazed.
Roach said Pacquiao is ready to go 12 rounds of boxing, although this is not the game plan.
Pacquiao, Roach said, will go for the kill early in the fight and hope to finish off Larios within six rounds.
Pacquiao, who became the first fighter to stop the great Erik Morales in January, has all the weapons to dismantle Larios. His left straight is a killer, his right hook devastating and is a savage body puncher.
