Pacquiao's rival boasts of iron chin

This should be a cause for concern for crowd favorite and defending champion Manny Pacquiao.

Pacquiao's visiting rival, Sydney-based Arnel Barotillo, boasted that he has never been knocked down in his decade-long career.

"I have never been floored or knocked out," said Barotillo as he revs up for his World Boxing Council (WBC) International super-bantamweight title challenge set Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

"Arnel's taken a lot of good shots before. He's got a good chin," said Mark Pitts, who also serves as the Bicol-born banger's strategist.

Dubbed Tapatan: Walang Atrasan, the Pacquiao-Barotillo rumble is presented by Pagcor-Casino Filipino and backed up by Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, SSS and AMA Computer College.

Tickets priced at P100 (general admission), P200 (upper box), P400 (lower box) and P1,000 (premium ringside) are now available at Retro Bar (374-3431/373-4805), Elorde Sports Center (541-9398/825-7229) and at the venue on fight day.

Both fighters had their last public workout yesterday afternoon with Barotillo sweating it out at promoter Bebot Elorde's training facility in Parañaque, and Pacquiao shaping up at the L&M Gym in Sampaloc.

PTV-4 Sports will telecast the mega-card, organized by Tapatan Inc.'s chief executive Jay Sonza and Elorde, on a slightly-delayed basis starting at 9 p.m.

Both groups will attend the weigh-in at the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) offices tomorrow afternoon in the presence of the appointed officials. GAB chair Dominador Cepeda will be the fight supervisor, while the referee-judge is New Zealand's Bruce McTavish.