Jose Sulaiman Heading Out To De La Hoya-Pacquiao

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Despite the fact that he had criticized the battle between Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao and “The Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya as a mismatch and a fight that should not have been made, World Boxing Council president Don Jose Sulaiman says he’s going to Las Vegas to watch the fight.

In an overseas telephone conversation with insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports from his home in Mexico City, Sulaiman said he had made an ”irrevocable decision” to watch the fight from ringside at the MGM Grand on Sunday, Manila Time saying “I am doing this for Oscar and Manny who are both my heroes.”

He said that De La Hoya who carried the WBC banner “for many, many years” and Pacquiao have both “been great champions and we are proud of them.”

Sulaiman noted that Pacquiao “became a hero while fighting and winning WBC belts and the least we can do is be there for the fight regardless of the fact that this is not for a WBC title.”

Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach spoke to us while on the specially chartered, brightly festooned bus en route to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas while seated next to conditioning expert Alex Ariza. Pacquiao rode in his regular convoy since he was superstitious about changing his mode of traveling to a fight.

In fact he is checking in at his so-called “lucky hotel”,  the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel and Casino where he’s won whenever he fought there. He declined to check in at the MGM Grand where the De La Hoya fight will be held and where Pacquiao lost his first encounter in an epic trilogy with Erik “El Terrible” Morales.

Pacquiao’s charming wife Jinkee will watch the fight from their Mandalay Bay suite since she is eight months pregnant and cannot stand the stress of watching the fight “live” at the venue. Both Jinkee and Pacquiao’s mother Dionisia had both been against the De La Hoya fight saying that De La Hoya was simply too big but they  eventually had to give in to Pacquiao’s wishes.

Roach said Pacquiao was “feeling good” and they were “confident of beating” De La Hoya while Ariza said everything was in place and Pacquiao was looking good and relaxed. Pacquiao himself told his team members to stay relaxed and not to worry about the fight.