Celebrated trainer Freddie Roach has indicated there is a big chance he might be able to fly to San Antonio, Texas to be at the corner of superstar Manny Pacquiao when he clashes with little-known but undefeated Mexican Jorge Solis on April 14 at the Alamodome.
Roach, according to Brad Cooney in a message posted at Pacland, has informed that there is a very good chance that he can attend to Pacquiao and that he will discuss this matter with Oscar De la Hoya today.
Roach believes that De la Hoya will give him the green light, as he plans on giving the Golden Boy a day off from camp on the said date so he can fly to Texas.
Roach and De la Hoya are in the thick of their preparation for the May 5 super-fight with the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, a card which will be shown live by ABS-CBN in the Philippines.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, is gearing up for his April 14 bout with Solis at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles, while the Mexican is holed up in some mountains in Mexico.
Yesterday, Pacquiao was fitted with a new custom-made blue-and-yellow mouthguard especially made for him by renowned orthodontist Ed De la Vega of Canoga Park, California.
The Filipino lefty has already racked up some 80 rounds of sparring both in General Santos City and Los Angeles, and should be in Texas a week before the fight so he can attend the final press conference as well as the official weigh-in for the bout.
Solar Sports, in partnership with GMA-7, will air the Pacquiao-Solis fight in the Philippines.
Veteran referee Vic Drakulich has been appointed by WBC President Jose Sulaiman to be the third man on the ring for the Pacquiao-Solis tiff.
Drakulich was also the same refereee who worked Pacquiao’s third fight against Erik Morales last November 18 which ended in a third-round blowout.
Drakulich had also worked the Eagle Kyowa-Rodel Mayol bout, as well as the some bouts of Oscar De la Hoya, Jorge Arce, Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Jose Luis Castillo, Joel Casamayor and many other big bouts in the past.
If the fight goes the distance, set to render decision are judges Larry O’Connell (England), Gale Van Hoy (Texas), and Oren Shellenberger (Texas).
BAUTISTA, BANAL LA-BOUND TODAY
A few hours from now, undefeated ALA Boys Rey ‘Boom Boom’ Bautista and Alex John ‘Bazooka’ Banal, together with their trainer Edito Villamor, will fly to Los Angeles to continue their training at the Wild Card Gym and in Puerto Rico.
The trio will train for one week at the Wild Card Gym in LA, before flying out to Puerto Rico where they will join their promoter Oscar De la Hoya and trainer Freddie Roach in training.
On Sunday night, Bautista and Villamor both received their respective awards at the Elorde Annual Banquet of Champions at the Elorde Sports Center in Paranaque.
Also receiving awards were top Filipino promoter Sammy Gello-ani, who was given his third Best Promoter Award, while Cebu sportsman Antonio L. Aldeguer (ALA) also received his Best Manager award.
Villamor, for his part, was chosen Best Trainer for his efforts in honing the skills of the fast-rising ALA Boys.
Both Bautista and Banal are seeing action on the May 5 ‘The World Awaits’ card featuring the titanic battle between Oscar De la Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Bautista will take on undefeated Argentinian Sergio Manuel Medina in a 12-round eliminator for the WBO superbantam crown. The winner moves on to challenge reigning champion Daniel Ponce De Leon.
Banal, meanwhile, will take on a soon-to-be-announced foe in the card for his American debut.
