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Saturday night's edition of HBO's 24/7 series on the upcoming Miguel Cotto-Manny Pacquiao fight may be the most riveting because of the fighters' stories, and because it was the most dangerous and treacherous to film.
The cable network's camera crews had to brave the violent surges of a deadly typhoon which battered the Philippines, as did Pacquiao, who bravely trained under tumultuous, life-threatening conditions.
See what HBO's president of sports, Ross Greenburg, had to say about the network's latest undertaking below.
FanHouse: What sort of detail is shown concerning the tragic conditions of the Philippines?
Greenburg: I screened the installment this morning. It's very compelling. It's a sad state of affairs in the Philippines right now. The location where Manny's been training, Baguio, is about six hours from Manila by car.
It took pretty much a direct hit from the typhoon that originally struck the island. And now, there have been a series of pretty bad storms that have taken the rainfall, inch-wise, up to the 25 area or so. It really damaged the city, and we have some harrowing shots of what's happened there.
We were the only camera in the city for the last couple of weeks because there was no access to and from. It's been difficult, and it's been scary. We've had to evacuate our crew to Manila for a couple of days, and then they went back. Manny stayed for as long as he could, and then he left in the middle of the night.
There's been a little discord in the camp because of the tension. Freddy Roach has been fairly concerned from the beginning about being in Baguio. It has not been easy. The shots that we got were scary. It's a city that's under water and it's a very remote part of the Philippines as it is."
FH: Who are the members of the crew?
Greenburg: Scott Boggins was there, who heads up 24/7 as the producer. I do want to give a lot of credit to that dedicated crew who stuck it out and really battled the elements and put themselves in harm's way.
We had a lot of tough conference calls from Manila and from Baguio between myself, [Executive Producer, HBO Sports] Rick Bernstein and [24/7 Coordinating Producer] Dave Harmon and Scott Boggins in the Philippines trying to decide what to do minute to minute with our staff and our crew. Whether to stay, whether to evacuate to Manila, whether to go back at all. What was the safest path?
When you're Manny Pacquiao, and you have access to planes and you're treated like royalty and a head of state. That made it a little bit easier. At the end of the day, Scott Boggins ended up having to take an American military cargo plane from Baguio to Manila and then he came back home.
They were doing military relief efforts in Baguio just to give reinforcements of food and essentials to the city, and we were the only ones with a camrera and we shot that as well. We actually ended up giving a minute or two to some of our bretheren at CNN for them to have some footage of the disaster in the Philippines."
A lot of people lost their lives, so it was very difficult. You know how Manny loves his countrymen, so he's had a very difficult time with it. Although he's been very focused on training, and we have plenty of shots of him training in the middle of this mayhem as well. There's a shot of him in a pool training while basically surrounded by a massive storm.
FH: Can two, foreign fighters appeal to an American audience?
Greenburg: This has the makings for a good one. Neither guy speaks really good English, but I think it's going to be an interesting character study. You don't have a clear-cut American here, but you do have two fighters who have significant fan bases in their own countries and really interesting stories to tell.
For Pacquiao, there is the added drama of what's going on in the Philippines. Also, we're introducing Miguel Cotto to the series, and it's always nice in the 24/7 to introduce a new character.
You always have Freddie Roach, who has evolved into a wonderful character in 24/7, but Miguel will surprise some people as well. His group is fun, and interesting and focused.
FH: What do you hope that the viewer will come away thinking of Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao after the first show?
Greenburg: I believe that they'll be struck by Miguel Cotto's quiet confidence, and the close-knit family that he's developed again at home in Puerto Rico. I think that Miguel probably getting his ninth tatoo with family, and his rekindled relationship with his wife, who is sitting with him. That will be a visual that people may say, 'you don't see that every day.'
Miguel has made his way to Tampa, and Manny will do the same this week to start his training in the U.S. And I think that people will be struck by Manny having to deal with one of the great tragedies in Philippine history and being caught up in the storm and remaining focused in training in bizarre circumstances in this first segment.
I think that the visuals of the rain pelting down and Manny Pacquiao swimming for the first time because he couldn't run in the mountains as a way of doing his exercise, and the visuals of a city that is clearly drowning will be those that people take away from the Philippines.
FH: How big is Manny Pacquaio in popularity?
Greenburg: It seems that every time we do Manny after one of his victories, his legend seems to grow in the Philippines, and it's fascinating to see how he continues to become this Muhammad Ali-type of figure in his homeland.
Even when he's here [in America,] the Filipino community in the United States seems to give him that respect. I can tell you that his legend also seems to be growing in the United States. I think he's now a cross-over superstar athlete in this country.
I think you witness it in Yankees Stadium when we announce this fight, which is also in the first show. We had about 4,000 people there, and they weren't all Filipino and Puerto Rican. There was a mix of a lot of boxing fans.
FH: Is Miguel Cotto's personal strife addressed?
Greenburg: Yes. And it's very dramatic, very compelling. We do, in fact, have the reconcilation between Miguel and his wife. And she is in the first episode with his four children in Puerto Rico. And we will be touching on the problem with Evangelista Cotto, his uncle, and the difficulty there, and the fact that now, Joe Santiago has taken over as his trainer.
There are a lot of little subplots to this 24/7 which should be very entertaining and interesting to see how they deal with these different human elements. Clearly, Miguel Cotto has resurrected his career off of the Joshua Clottey fight. He had the unfortunate loss to Antonio Margarito, which is also part of the drama of the first show. Now people are questioning whether the gloves were real or loaded on Margarito's part.
FH: How about the laceration over Miguel Cotto's eye against Joshua Clottey?
Greenburg: Oh yeah, the cut's clearly in there. We show the distress, and that Clottey was tough, but we also show the later rounds, where Cotto re-establishes himself and, in most people's minds, won the fight."
FH: Whom do you believe is the perceived underdog?
Greenburg: Well, Miguel Cotto is big and strong, so, here we go again, trying to figure out how Manny Pacquiao can put up with this kind of power. Manny stopped everyone in their tracks and shut their mouths when he fought Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton because I think we were all asking the same question of whether or not Manny Pacquiao was just too small.
But then you have Miguel Cotto and his new, lead trainer, Joe Santiago, meaning Cotto and Santiago are going against 2008 Fighter and 2008 Trainer of The Year. They're going up against the man many consider to be the pound-for-best fighter in the world, and a man whom many consider the pound-for-pound best trainer in the world.
We've seen it on previous 24/7's that Manny and Freddie have a bond that is unlike many other fighter-trainer relationships that I've seen in the sport. They've just connected, physically and mentally. To watch them work is almost like watching Picasso with a paint brush.
FH: What about the fighters' patriotism?
Greenburg: Clearly, they both feel that as fighters.
Miguel Cotto comes from a country that has given us some of the greatest boxing legends ever -- Wilfredo Benitez and Felix Trinidad, to name a couple of them from Puerto Rico. So, for Miguel, he has to carry that mantle and that's a heavy burden for a fighter. And he's clearly the island's No. 1 son at this moment.
And then, Manny carries the entire island on his back. There is no other sporting legend who has ever existed on that island like Manny Pacquiao.
The cable network's camera crews had to brave the violent surges of a deadly typhoon which battered the Philippines, as did Pacquiao, who bravely trained under tumultuous, life-threatening conditions.
See what HBO's president of sports, Ross Greenburg, had to say about the network's latest undertaking below.
FanHouse: What sort of detail is shown concerning the tragic conditions of the Philippines?
Greenburg: I screened the installment this morning. It's very compelling. It's a sad state of affairs in the Philippines right now. The location where Manny's been training, Baguio, is about six hours from Manila by car.
It took pretty much a direct hit from the typhoon that originally struck the island. And now, there have been a series of pretty bad storms that have taken the rainfall, inch-wise, up to the 25 area or so. It really damaged the city, and we have some harrowing shots of what's happened there.
We were the only camera in the city for the last couple of weeks because there was no access to and from. It's been difficult, and it's been scary. We've had to evacuate our crew to Manila for a couple of days, and then they went back. Manny stayed for as long as he could, and then he left in the middle of the night.
There's been a little discord in the camp because of the tension. Freddy Roach has been fairly concerned from the beginning about being in Baguio. It has not been easy. The shots that we got were scary. It's a city that's under water and it's a very remote part of the Philippines as it is."
FH: Who are the members of the crew?
Greenburg: Scott Boggins was there, who heads up 24/7 as the producer. I do want to give a lot of credit to that dedicated crew who stuck it out and really battled the elements and put themselves in harm's way.
We had a lot of tough conference calls from Manila and from Baguio between myself, [Executive Producer, HBO Sports] Rick Bernstein and [24/7 Coordinating Producer] Dave Harmon and Scott Boggins in the Philippines trying to decide what to do minute to minute with our staff and our crew. Whether to stay, whether to evacuate to Manila, whether to go back at all. What was the safest path?
When you're Manny Pacquiao, and you have access to planes and you're treated like royalty and a head of state. That made it a little bit easier. At the end of the day, Scott Boggins ended up having to take an American military cargo plane from Baguio to Manila and then he came back home.
They were doing military relief efforts in Baguio just to give reinforcements of food and essentials to the city, and we were the only ones with a camrera and we shot that as well. We actually ended up giving a minute or two to some of our bretheren at CNN for them to have some footage of the disaster in the Philippines."
A lot of people lost their lives, so it was very difficult. You know how Manny loves his countrymen, so he's had a very difficult time with it. Although he's been very focused on training, and we have plenty of shots of him training in the middle of this mayhem as well. There's a shot of him in a pool training while basically surrounded by a massive storm.
FH: Can two, foreign fighters appeal to an American audience?
Greenburg: This has the makings for a good one. Neither guy speaks really good English, but I think it's going to be an interesting character study. You don't have a clear-cut American here, but you do have two fighters who have significant fan bases in their own countries and really interesting stories to tell.
For Pacquiao, there is the added drama of what's going on in the Philippines. Also, we're introducing Miguel Cotto to the series, and it's always nice in the 24/7 to introduce a new character.
You always have Freddie Roach, who has evolved into a wonderful character in 24/7, but Miguel will surprise some people as well. His group is fun, and interesting and focused.
FH: What do you hope that the viewer will come away thinking of Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao after the first show?
Greenburg: I believe that they'll be struck by Miguel Cotto's quiet confidence, and the close-knit family that he's developed again at home in Puerto Rico. I think that Miguel probably getting his ninth tatoo with family, and his rekindled relationship with his wife, who is sitting with him. That will be a visual that people may say, 'you don't see that every day.'
Miguel has made his way to Tampa, and Manny will do the same this week to start his training in the U.S. And I think that people will be struck by Manny having to deal with one of the great tragedies in Philippine history and being caught up in the storm and remaining focused in training in bizarre circumstances in this first segment.
I think that the visuals of the rain pelting down and Manny Pacquiao swimming for the first time because he couldn't run in the mountains as a way of doing his exercise, and the visuals of a city that is clearly drowning will be those that people take away from the Philippines.
FH: How big is Manny Pacquaio in popularity?
Greenburg: It seems that every time we do Manny after one of his victories, his legend seems to grow in the Philippines, and it's fascinating to see how he continues to become this Muhammad Ali-type of figure in his homeland.
Even when he's here [in America,] the Filipino community in the United States seems to give him that respect. I can tell you that his legend also seems to be growing in the United States. I think he's now a cross-over superstar athlete in this country.
I think you witness it in Yankees Stadium when we announce this fight, which is also in the first show. We had about 4,000 people there, and they weren't all Filipino and Puerto Rican. There was a mix of a lot of boxing fans.
FH: Is Miguel Cotto's personal strife addressed?
Greenburg: Yes. And it's very dramatic, very compelling. We do, in fact, have the reconcilation between Miguel and his wife. And she is in the first episode with his four children in Puerto Rico. And we will be touching on the problem with Evangelista Cotto, his uncle, and the difficulty there, and the fact that now, Joe Santiago has taken over as his trainer.
There are a lot of little subplots to this 24/7 which should be very entertaining and interesting to see how they deal with these different human elements. Clearly, Miguel Cotto has resurrected his career off of the Joshua Clottey fight. He had the unfortunate loss to Antonio Margarito, which is also part of the drama of the first show. Now people are questioning whether the gloves were real or loaded on Margarito's part.
FH: How about the laceration over Miguel Cotto's eye against Joshua Clottey?
Greenburg: Oh yeah, the cut's clearly in there. We show the distress, and that Clottey was tough, but we also show the later rounds, where Cotto re-establishes himself and, in most people's minds, won the fight."
FH: Whom do you believe is the perceived underdog?
Greenburg: Well, Miguel Cotto is big and strong, so, here we go again, trying to figure out how Manny Pacquiao can put up with this kind of power. Manny stopped everyone in their tracks and shut their mouths when he fought Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton because I think we were all asking the same question of whether or not Manny Pacquiao was just too small.
But then you have Miguel Cotto and his new, lead trainer, Joe Santiago, meaning Cotto and Santiago are going against 2008 Fighter and 2008 Trainer of The Year. They're going up against the man many consider to be the pound-for-best fighter in the world, and a man whom many consider the pound-for-pound best trainer in the world.
We've seen it on previous 24/7's that Manny and Freddie have a bond that is unlike many other fighter-trainer relationships that I've seen in the sport. They've just connected, physically and mentally. To watch them work is almost like watching Picasso with a paint brush.
FH: What about the fighters' patriotism?
Greenburg: Clearly, they both feel that as fighters.
Miguel Cotto comes from a country that has given us some of the greatest boxing legends ever -- Wilfredo Benitez and Felix Trinidad, to name a couple of them from Puerto Rico. So, for Miguel, he has to carry that mantle and that's a heavy burden for a fighter. And he's clearly the island's No. 1 son at this moment.
And then, Manny carries the entire island on his back. There is no other sporting legend who has ever existed on that island like Manny Pacquiao.
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