Abandoning plans to train exclusively in the country, Pacquiao listened to trainer Freddie Roach’s advice in a heart-to-heart meeting the other night and will leave for the US not later than May 13. He agreed to appear in a press conference to promote the Big Dome bout for the US pay-per-view market during the weekend of Marco Antonio Barrera’s fight against Rocky Juarez at the Stapes Center in Los Angeles on May 20. Pacquiao will return home after his brother Bobby fights Kevin Kelley at Madison Square Garden on June 10 although he will not be at ringside for the New York bout.
Pacquiao said he will train in Baguio for two weeks with Roach then taper off in Manila.
Roach has lined up four sparmates, two of whom he will bring to Baguio, for Pacquiao. They will be paid $500 a week. One of the sparmates is 5-10 Mexican lightweight Jose Santa Cruz who has a 74-inch reach.
Pacquiao called it a "tough fight" and described Larios as a "hard opponent" because of his two-fisted, non-stop style. Larios reportedly holds the record for most punches thrown in a fight with 1,620 against Wayne MuCullough last year.
In a jampacked press conference yesterday, Pacquiao and Larios were introduced to media inside a ring assembled in Studio 10 of the ABS-CBN complex in Quezon City. ABS-CBN vice president Peter Musngi said the fight, dubbed "Mano A Mano," will be seen all over the world through the giant network’s local stations, The Filipino Channel, iNDemand, DirectTV and a Mexican broadcast partner.
Ticket prices are still being finalized but it was confirmed that general admission will be free to the public. How the free tickets will be allocated is being studied.
Also introduced were World Boxing Foundation superflyweight champion Gerry Peñalosa, former Oriental superfeatherweight titlist Randy Suico and Philippine superfeatherweight king Jimrex Jaca who are seeing action against Mexicans in the undercard. Peñalosa stakes his crown against Gerson Guerrero. Suico takes on Silverio Ortiz and Jaca battles Adrian Valdez. Bantamweight prospect Rey (Boom Boom) Bautista, now in Los Angeles training for a May 20 fight in the Barrera-Juarez undercard, will face Alejandro Montiel in another aperitif.
With manager Rafael Mendoza as interpreter, Larios said, in Spanish, he is motivated to beat Pacquiao because he has everything to gain and the Filipino has everything to lose. He thanked Pacquiao for the opportunity to prove his worth in the ring, something Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez were afraid to do.
Mendoza said even as Pacquiao is regarded as the best and hardest hitting superfeatherweight in the world today, he is not invincible.
In a Star interview, Larios said he will engage Pacquiao in a toe-to-toe contest from the start. He promised not to fight from long range and run.
But when Pacquiao was told of Larios’ plan, he laughed it off.
"Sanay na ako sa dialogue na ’yan," said Pacquiao. "Ganoon din ang sinabi nina Barrera, Morales, (Hector) Velazquez at Marquez bago kami lumaban. Anong nangyari? Noong nakatikim sila ng suntok ko, iba na ang kinilos. Handa akong labanan si Larios sa labas o sa loob. Alam ko, magaling siya at makamay. Titingnan natin kung sino sa amin ang makakatagal."
Pacquiao also said he isn’t impressed by Larios’ boast that he’s not flying 10,000 miles to lose.
"Kung siya, walang balak matalo, ’di rin ako magpapatalo sa harap ng aking mga kababayan," said Pacquiao.
Larios, Mendoza and trainer Edison Reynoso leave for Mexico today. Larios will train a month in Tokyo or south of Japan before arriving here a week before the fight.