By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Ring Magazine featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao is back in Los Angeles to resume training after a quick business trip to San Francisco where he met with the son of business manager Rod Nazario, Roberto “Boying” Nazario, regarding plans to set up a company in the US to manage Pacquiao’s affairs.
In an overseas telephone conversation with Viva Sports/Manila Standard, Nazario said Pacquiao was driven to San Francisco along with Filipino trainer Buboy Fernandez, reporter Winchell Campos, and a friend identified as Greg Asuncion and wasn’t missing. While in San Francisco, Nazario reported that Pacquiao was “in very high spirits” and was looking forward to seeing his wife Jinkee and son Emmanuel Jr who are
scheduled to leave for LA on Thursday and plan to return on February 5.
Nazario said Pacquiao enjoyed a meal at Max’s restaurant in San Francisco where he was mobbed by Filipino fans seeking his autograph and wanting to pose for pictures with him. He also reported that Pacquiao’s wife Jinkee was able to talk to him although she appeared a little frantic earlier on when she couldn’t contact him and the desk clerk at Vagabond Inn in LA where Pacquiao stays told her he would be out for two days.
Nazario said he had spoken to international promoter Murad Muhammad who had promised to fix the problem of Pacquiao requiring a visa to visit Mexico City so he
could carry the fight into the homeland of his March 19 opponent Erik “El Terrible” Morales who is a hero in Mexico.
Murad and Top Rank’s Bob Arum, ecstatic over the tremendous response to the press conference formally announcing the fight titled “Bring It On” which drew the biggest crowd ever to a pre-fight media event in Los Angeles, were planning to have Pacquiao fly to Mexico City to further fire up the growing Philippines-Mexico rivalry brought about initially by Pacquiao’s eleventh round annihilation of the legendary Marco Antonio Barrera and his opening round salvo against WBA/IBF champion Juan Manuel Marquez whom he decked three times en route to a controversial draw. Trainer Freddie Roach earlier told Viva Sports/Manila Standard that Pacquiao needed a visa to enter Mexico and those planning the trip had overlooked the fact that Monday was a holiday in the US and there was no way Pacquiao could leave for Mexico City on Tuesday.
Nazario also confirmed what Murad has said right along and that is that flashy super flyweight Z “The Dream” Gorres will fight a top-ranked contender on the under-card but that details of an agreement with the handlers of the opponent were still being finalized.
