For the first time since his title fight against Oscar Larios in the morning of July 2, 2006 at the Araneta Coliseum in the Philippines, Manny Pacquiao will again fight in the morning against Brandon Rios at the Venetian Resort & Casino in Macau, China. For seven years Pacquiao has been fighting at nighttime in the US, mostly in Las Vegas, Nevada and Texas. On Nov. 24, Pacquiao will face Rios in the morning of Nov. 24 in Macau, China (Nov. 23 in the US) to jibe with the HBO programing and to accommodate pay-per-view clients on US TV prime time. Speaking at the press conference to kick off the media tour of the Pacquiao-Rios camps, Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum said the “fight will begin at 10am, ensuring a prime-time Saturday night audience in America. “Nov 24 will be an historic occasion. It’s expected this event will reach more people than any event held in China, other than the Olympics,” said Arum “The fight will be live here at about 10am on Sunday, which is 9pm on Saturday night in New York, the usual time to start a pay-per-view show.” Arum added. The timing of the fight seems to favor Pacquiao for a number of reasons. First, Pacquiao won’t experience the usual jet lag that Rios will have to bear even if he travels a week before fight date. Flying time for Pacquiao takes just a little over an hour from the Philippines and he doesn’t have to worry about jet lag. Secondly, Rios will have to bear with the sudden time shift of the fight from his usual evening schedule to early morning as he has to rise early for the usual pre-fight requirements. To reduce the effect of jet lag, Rios should perhaps consider flying at least two weeks before the fight. According to news-medical.net, Charles Samuels of the Centre for Sleep and Human Performance of Calgary, Canada says that “jet lag and travel fatigue have been identified by athletes, athletic trainers, coaches, and physicians as important but challenging problems that could benefit from practical solutions.” The report says Samuels “advocates splitting the travel process into a preflight (7 days leading up to travel), in-flight, and postflight (2-4 days after travel) component.” Samuels’ thoughts on the effect of jet lag on athletes could help RIos in planning his travel schedule leading up to his fight in Macau. Combating jet lag and adjusting to sudden shift on the timing of the fight could be a cause for concern by both Rios and Pacquiao based on experts advice on jet lag situations. In this particular case, the shift seems to favor the eight-division champ due to his proximity to the venue of the fight.
