CEBU, Philippines - Filipino sports great Manny Pacquiao is toying with the idea of training in Cebu for his November 14 mega-fight against Puerto Rican hotshot Miguel Angel Cotto at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“He has not yet made up his mind, but Manny has expressed to me his interest to train either in Cebu or in Mexico for the Cotto fight,” said Pacquiao’s confidant and close associate Rex “Wakee” Salud. “Should he opts to train here, it would be a welcome development for the Cebuanos and we will accommodate him with open arms just like what we did before.”
Two years ago, Pacquiao worked out in Cebu at Salud’s world-class RWS Gym at the Guadalupe Osmeña Village in Brgy. Punta Princesa for his showdown with Marco Antonio Barrera. That yielded positive result as the Pacman went on to retire Barrera with a lopsided unanimous decision victory on October 6, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino also in Las Vegas.
“Afterall, the place doesn’t matter as we all know that when Manny trains, he’s very dedicated and focused. He puts his heart and mind in everything he do,” said Salud.
Pacquiao and his mother Dionisia, who rapidly rose into the celebrity ranks on account of her being the PacMom, were in Cebu last Sunday, adding glitz and glamour to the star-studded 61st birthday celebration of Cebu City Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña at the SM City-Cebu Trade Hall. It was Pacman’s fourth visit in the Queen City of the South this year.
Pacquiao though immediately left for Manila yesterday morning to attend the last State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, his staunchest supporter.
Salud, on the other hand, bared that negotiations are underway for the Pacquiao-Cotto to be converted into a world championship match. Cotto has earlier declared that he won’t stake his WBO welterweight title against Pacquiao.
“Talks are now going on for it to become a title bout. Hopefully it will be materialized,” said Salud.
The 30-year-old Pacquiao has posted a record-tying five world titles in different weight divisions from flyweight (112 lbs.) to light welterweight (140 lbs.).
Pacquiao also pole-vaulted into the welterweight class where he scored a brutal ninth round destruction of Oscar de la Hoya in December last year. He followed that up with an unbelievable second round knockout of British star Ricky “Hitman” Hatton last summer to further cement his status as the world’s pound-for-pound king.
Pacquiao, who is guaranteed of a US$12 million purse aside from a lion’s share in gate and pay-per-view sales, parades a 49-3-2 win-loss-draw record spiked with 37KOs, while Cotto sports an equally-impressive 34-1 slate dotted with 27KOs. They will slug it out at 145 lbs. as agreed by both camps. (BANAT NEWS)