LAS VEGAS ? Manny Pacquiao tried to hide the effects of the time-consuming 300-mile road trip that began in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon by plucking his expensive guitar and singing a mellow tune while awaiting for the keys to his suite at the swanky Wynn Las Vegas.
For a few minutes, Pacquiao sang and played as though he would be spending the next seven days here either gambling or partying, not somebody who would go up the ring and face off with a gunslinger named Erik Morales of Mexico on Saturday night before an expected capacity crowd at the Thomas and Mack Center.
After a few minutes, Pacquiao was escorted to room 501 with wife Jinkee in tow and members of the fighter?s bloated entourage on his tail, their luggage and other stuff being taken care of by two bellhops tasked to make sure Pacquiao?s party receives VIP treatment.
Returning to the site of many unforgettable fights dating back to 2001, Pacquiao was a picture of confidence as he strode his way to where he will privately map out plans aimed at derailing the bid of Morales to score an upset.
He hardly spoke a word but one could feel the intensity that goes with his facial expression.
Pacquiao looked in terrific shape and one scribe who touched the boxer?s abdomen during a short stopover in the town of Barstow felt how hard his abs had become after almost eight weeks of hard training at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.
“Parang bato sa tigas,” said the Manila writer sent here to cover the year?s most awaited bout.
Pacquiao, 27, just gave the startled fellow a look and walked out of the convenience store and got back to his giant SUV to resume the journey here.
Also on board the Lincoln Navigator were his LA-based driver Joseph Jose, trainer Buboy Fernandez and Jinkee.
In hot pursuit were about eight vehicles, mostly gas-guzzlers, which began the trip from the Wild Card sometime after lunch, a couple of hours after Pacquiao heard Mass at the Christ The King church at the corner of Rossmore and Vine Streets.
Although Pacquiao had made his last sparring last Saturday, he is expected to train Monday until Thursday at a gym inside the IBA Compound owned by former Major League player Dean Chance.
The press conference is set for Thursday, while the official weigh-in will be on Friday with Pacquiao expected to conquer the scales and Morales to encounter difficulties making the super-featherweight limit of 130 lbs.
Meanwhile, Morales should plane in from Toluca, Mexico, early Monday evening after spending nearly eight weeks in the mountains of Otomi raring to get back at Pacquiao for the misfortunes that he suffered following the tenth-round knockout defeat.
NOTES: Los Angeles-based dentist Ed dela Vega?s masterpiece would again be put on display when Manny Pacquiao fights this weekend. For the nth time, Dela Vega?s customized mouthguard will be put to the test. You see, Dela Vega has been producing the mouthpieces of Filipino boxers fighting on US soil for free as his way of lending a helping hand. But whenever Hispanic or other foreigners ask for his services, he charges them with a flat rate of 0 per piece.
* Cebu-based web developer Dong Secuya, the creator of the highly-popular website mannypacquiao.ph, is here to bring the fight and other related developments to web surfers from around the world. Secuya is also taking the opportunity to woo bigtime promotional companies like Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions to forge advertisement tie-ups with the phenomenal mannypacquiao.ph as well as preside over an EB (eyeball) among Paclanders residing in the US on Saturday at Salo-Salo Restaurant. Secuya expects 25,000 to 30,000 users on fight day.
* Being shown on the high-definition screen on Las Vegas Boulevard fronting Wynn Las Vegas is a teaser for the Pacquiao-Morales 3 with highlight reels of the two always getting the attention of pedestrians and motorists alike.
