by Ronnie Nathanielsz
Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao is “close to perfect” for his quest to add the IBO light welterweight title of Britain’s Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton to his collection of four world titles and the Ring Magazine featherweight championship belt.
In an overseas telephone conversation with BoxingScene.com, insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports, conditioning expert Alex Ariza, after assessing training camp and what they have done so far in Las Vegas said “ I don’t want to sound like everything is perfect but its close to perfect as can be.”
Ariza revealed that Pacquiao was right on weight as they expected and tipped the scales at exactly 140 pounds on Wednesday. But the conditioning guru indicated they would like him to go down to 139 so that on the day of the fight which is Sunday, Manila Time, “he could eat twice on the day of the weigh-in on Friday.”
Ariza said Pacquiao trained at the IBA Gym where he went seven rounds on the punch-mitts with trainer Freddie Roach and “they also worked on strategy” for the fight dubbed “The battle of East and West.”
Ariza who helped Roach get Pacquiao into devastating shape for his back-to-back annihilations of WBC lightweight champion David Diaz in nine brutal rounds and Oscar De La Hoya in eight said “we have been getting up early, Manny does some light roadwork in the morning and everything is good. Manny looks great.”
He said that mentally, Pacquiao “is more confident than I have ever seen him. He is at that point where he is almost like a racehorse in the stall waiting for the gates to open. That’s the best way I can put it.” Ariza also noted that Roach “has the crowd under control” so Pacquiao isn’t disturbed too much in the countdown to the fight which will be telecast by Solar Sports over GMA 7 and in theaters, restaurants and hundreds of other venues, including the famed Araneta Coliseum, on a pay-per view basis.
Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer told us that under the bout contracts filed with the NSAC , Pacquiao’s guaranteed purse is $12 million which is a little under P600 million while Hatton’s is $8 million or almost P400 million.
Pacquiao is expected to earn some P60 million from Solar Sports for the exclusive Philippine television and other ancillary rights while the leading sports network is expected to generate revenues of over P120 million although the Pacquiao fight was packaged along with “The Flash and The Furious” card featuring Nonito Donaire and Brian Viloria last April 19 and Gerry Penalosa’s shot at the WBO super bantamweight title in Puerto Rico last Sunday.
Kizer earlier replied with a terse “No” when asked about claims by the Hatton camp, reported by boxing writer Pat Sheehan of The Sun, who claimed the Pacquiao camp wanted Joe Cortez as referee and had requested the NSAC to put him in charge but the Commission appointed Kenny Bayless .
Bayless was the referee who cautioned Juan Manuel Marquez three times for low blows in the fierce rematch against Pacquiao on March 15, 2008 and also served as the third man in the ring in Pacquiao’s rematch against Erik Morales which the Filipino won by a tenth round TKO on January 21, 2006.
Bayless was also referee in the Hatton-Paulie Malignaggi title fight last November 22 in which he called a halt in the 11th round as Hatton inflicted a bad beating on Malignaggi.
The report claimed that Cortez was “covered in controversy” over the way he handled Hatton’s fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr who knocked out Hatton in the 10th round.
