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By Winchell Campos
LOS ANGELES-Ring Magazine featherweight king Manny Pacquiao thinks Marco Antonio Barrera still has what it takes to win against bitter rival Erik Morales in the two Mexican warriors' rubber match on Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao, who is also deep in training for his Dec. 11 fight with Thai Fahsan 3k-Battery in a Taguig, a suburb in the outskirts of Manila, said that he is rooting for the underdog Barrera to win against Morales, a fighter he has not faced in the past.
On Nov. 15 last year, Pacquiao's stock rose to an all-time high after he annihilated Barrera in all of 11 rounds to snatch the latter's "People's Champion" belt given by Ring Magazine, the most respected boxing magazine in the world.
"I think and believe that Marco Antonio Barrera still has what it takes to win against Erik Morales," said Pacquiao in his native tongue.
"I want Barrera to win because we still have unfinished business. I also want to give him a second chance because in the first place, he gave me the opportunity to show the world what I can do in the ring," added Pacquiao.
Pacquiao also thinks the Barrera-Morales rivalry is so evenly matched that one costly mistake early or late in the match can spell disaster. The two Mexicans split their previous two matches.
"I will also be waiting for Erik Morales should he win on Saturday. I will fight him, anytime, anywhere," said Pacquiao, who knows that a loss could derail a mega-fight with either boxer.
Pacquiao said he is not leaving anything to chance when he tangles with the dangerous Fahsan, billed as the "Destroyer of Filipinos."
The southpaw from General Santos City, who turns 26 next month, decried bad local publicity, depicting him as someone who is not taking his preparations seriously and is even currently overweight.
"Those things are not true. I am currently in good shape and I walk around at 128 pounds, not 134 as what has been written," said Pacquiao, only two pounds above the limit.
In fact, Pacquiao revealed that he knocked down Christopher Saluday, who weighed heavier at 147 pounds with a left uppercut Wednesday. That is bad news for Fahsan, who promised to come up with his own surprise.
Pacquiao, who is also currently filming and starring in a soon-to-be-released local reality-TV show, said that he took time out last Sunday to shoot several footages in Subic Bay. "At the same time, I had to fetch Freddie Roach at the airport," said Pacquiao, who plunged back to regular training the next day.
Roach and Pacquiao have been working out on new techniques and combination punches including a sharper right hook and uppercuts to make the Filipino a more complete fighter.
"I know that there are so many things at stake in this fight that is why I am not going to give my opponent a chance, especially in front of my fellow countrymen" said Pacquiao.
LOS ANGELES-Ring Magazine featherweight king Manny Pacquiao thinks Marco Antonio Barrera still has what it takes to win against bitter rival Erik Morales in the two Mexican warriors' rubber match on Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao, who is also deep in training for his Dec. 11 fight with Thai Fahsan 3k-Battery in a Taguig, a suburb in the outskirts of Manila, said that he is rooting for the underdog Barrera to win against Morales, a fighter he has not faced in the past.
On Nov. 15 last year, Pacquiao's stock rose to an all-time high after he annihilated Barrera in all of 11 rounds to snatch the latter's "People's Champion" belt given by Ring Magazine, the most respected boxing magazine in the world.
"I think and believe that Marco Antonio Barrera still has what it takes to win against Erik Morales," said Pacquiao in his native tongue.
"I want Barrera to win because we still have unfinished business. I also want to give him a second chance because in the first place, he gave me the opportunity to show the world what I can do in the ring," added Pacquiao.
Pacquiao also thinks the Barrera-Morales rivalry is so evenly matched that one costly mistake early or late in the match can spell disaster. The two Mexicans split their previous two matches.
"I will also be waiting for Erik Morales should he win on Saturday. I will fight him, anytime, anywhere," said Pacquiao, who knows that a loss could derail a mega-fight with either boxer.
Pacquiao said he is not leaving anything to chance when he tangles with the dangerous Fahsan, billed as the "Destroyer of Filipinos."
The southpaw from General Santos City, who turns 26 next month, decried bad local publicity, depicting him as someone who is not taking his preparations seriously and is even currently overweight.
"Those things are not true. I am currently in good shape and I walk around at 128 pounds, not 134 as what has been written," said Pacquiao, only two pounds above the limit.
In fact, Pacquiao revealed that he knocked down Christopher Saluday, who weighed heavier at 147 pounds with a left uppercut Wednesday. That is bad news for Fahsan, who promised to come up with his own surprise.
Pacquiao, who is also currently filming and starring in a soon-to-be-released local reality-TV show, said that he took time out last Sunday to shoot several footages in Subic Bay. "At the same time, I had to fetch Freddie Roach at the airport," said Pacquiao, who plunged back to regular training the next day.
Roach and Pacquiao have been working out on new techniques and combination punches including a sharper right hook and uppercuts to make the Filipino a more complete fighter.
"I know that there are so many things at stake in this fight that is why I am not going to give my opponent a chance, especially in front of my fellow countrymen" said Pacquiao.
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