By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Filipino ring idol and national treasure Manny Pacquiao looks in devastating form and no matter how long and hard former two-time super bantamweight champion Oscar Larios has trained for their July 2 showdown he is bound to be another statistic on the growing list of Mexican fighters demolished by the awesome power of Pacquiao.
Pacquiao and Larios appeared at a colorful press-public preview put on by the giant Philippine broadcast network ABS-CBN at the Araneta Coliseum yesterday and while Larios received rounds of polite applause after a spell of shadow boxing and working on the punch mitts it was clear that Pacquiao was the crowd darling.
The Filipino southpaw sparred three rounds with Russian champion Rustam Nugaev in which he merely went through the motions having engaged the lanky and heavier Nugaev in a torrid sparring session last Friday. But when he worked on the punch mitts, the incredible speed and the tremendous power of Pacquiao were clearly evident.
In an interview with Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today, Pacaquiao said he was confident of winning although he was not taking Larios lightly. Pacquiao conceded that although he was totally focused on the Larios fight he couldn’t help but have Erik “El Terrible” Morales in the back of his mind because Morales had done so much talking.
Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach said Pacquiao was “more of a complete fighter now. He fights with both hands. He thinks a lot more and is not the reckless young kid he was but now he is a thinking fighter who sets things up and is a smarter fighter and is getting better. He has not reached his peak. Next year he will be a better fighter.”
Roach said he sees “bigger and better things on the horizon for Manny. There are a lot of good fights out there for Manny in the future but now its all about Larios. He is a former world champion and knows what its like . We havent taken him lightly and the people shouldn’t take him lightly. He is a good fighter. He struggled to make weight his whole life at 122. He is more comfortable at 130. He is going to be stronger, bigger and you know what, he might be dangerous.”
Roach said Pacquiao was “ prepared to go twelve hard rounds but if a knockout comes that’ll be a bonus. We are in great shape.”
Larios himself said he was ready to shock Filipino fight fans by beating Pacquiao. He said he was in the best shape of his life, had a better training camp than Pacquiao and would prove himself on Sunday.
