By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Confident that Sugar “Shane” Mosley would beat Antonio Margarito, easily by his own assessmen,t and because that was his early prediction, Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao revealed that he bet $7,000 on Mosley and won at odds of 3 ½ to 1.
Pacquiao spoke to insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports in the middle of a relaxing game of golf at the Wack Wack Golf & Country Club.
Although the television announcers at the end of the Mosley annihilation of Margarito brought up the possibility of a Pacquiao-Mosley megabuck fight in the future at the same 147 pound weight division at which Pacquiao pulverized Oscar De La Hoya, Pacquiao said he is concentrating on the May 2 showdown against Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton and doesn’t wish to look beyond that fight right now.
Both Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach had called out Margarito when the Hatton fight was in doubt and both men predicted that despite the height, reach and weight advantage of Margarito, Pacquiao’s speed would kill, just like it did to De La Hoya. And it was Mosley’s speed which accentuated his punching power, just like Pacquiao, that helped him demolish Margarito.
Meantime, the eagerly awaited showdown between the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter and Hatton is expected to be formally announced on Monday.
Pacquiao’s lawyer Franklin “Jeng” Gacal who spoke to Hatton’s lawyer Gareth Williams everything was okay and that the signed contract had been forwarded last Friday (Manila Time) to Top Rank promoter Bob Arum.
Gacal said “hopefully the official announcement would be made on Monday” even as he didn’t foresee any last-minute hitches.
Atty. Williams who is Hatton’s legal adviser told The Daily Telegraph that the super-fight with Pacquiao is “99 percent certain to take place” and that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer had assured him that he had “a signed contract from Manny Pacquiao, which is fantastic “
The Golden Boy Promotions CEO who is Hatton’s promotional agent in the US said he didn’t anticipate “there being any problems and I’m hoping by Monday to officially announce the fight.”
Schaefer was quoted as saying “judging by the anticipation of the announcement, it should be one of the biggest fights in years.”
Williams told boxing writer Gareth Davies of the Daily Telegraph that Hatton “now has a fight to look forward to.” The lawyer confirmed he had spoken to Gacal adding “I hope that had helped to push the fight through.”
While all this was happening and Mosley was hammering Margarito in a lopsided fight that ended in a 9th round TKO, Pacquiao was relaxing with close friends including business manager Eric Pineda as he partnered Jake Joson in a round of golf against the duo of Finance secretary Gary Teves and businessman William Gatchalian.
According to Joson they won all nine holes on the front nine in what he referred to as “scramble, best ball” even as he described Pacquiao’s putting as “great.”
Pacquiao told us just before they teed off on the back nine that he had fun and enjoyed “a good laugh..”
Pacquiao said he was “not sure” whether he would leave with wife Jinkee and their new-born baby girl Queen Elizabeth for their hometown of General Santos City on Monday morning’s Philippine Airlines flight as earlier planned..
Pacquiao said he would report to the Wild Card Gym on March 1 after he kicks-off a promotional tour late February which will take him to London and Manchester , hometown of Hatton.
