Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has told his Filipino fans not to worry about his weight claiming that stories that he was almost 140 pounds and may have to reduce in a hurry to make the 130 pound limit when he battles WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas on March 15 were not true.
In a telephone conversation with ?The Main Event? boxing analyst Dennis Principe on his ?Sports Chat? show over dzSR Sports Radio, Pacquiao said he wouldn?t let himself down by being overweight because he is the one who has a hard time in the ring. Pacquiao said ?that?s why I have prepared very well so that everything is okay. I have done everything needed.?
Pacquiao said he has not weighed himself since the last official weigh-in by the World Boxing Council where he reportedly came it at around 139 pounds while Marquez weighed 132. When Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today spoke to celebrated trainer Freddie Roach last week he said Pacquiao was 136 pounds and should have ?no problem losing six pounds in three weeks.?
Pacquiao said boxers normally concern themselves with three things ? training, their weight and then the fight itself and he hasn?t neglected anything. He said Eric Brown had replaced Justin Fortune as conditioning coach since Fortune had left the Wild Card Gym. He said Brown is a veteran and ?does the same things that Fortune did? for him as conditioning coach.
Pacquiao said the three Mexican greats he has fought in the past ? Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Marquez ?are the same but their styles are different and they are all good boxers.? He said ?I am not underestimating Marquez.?
While it has been reported that a win over Marquez in a rematch titled ?Unfinished Business? would open the way for several big fights lined up including a shot at WBC lightweight champion David Diaz in June in Macau and Britain?s Ricky ?The Hitman? Hatton in November, Pacquiao said he was ?not thinking about these fights. If I have a fight I focus on and concentrate on that fight.?
Comments
Share your thoughts on the above article by Ronnie Nathanielsz.