That’s Jorge Solis in the eyes of German Cruz, a stocky Mexican boxing fan who caught up with Manny Pacquiao at the lobby of the Radisson Hotel here Sunday night.
Pacquiao had just arrived from a direct three-hour flight from Los Angeles and was busy doing some paper work at the hotel’s front desk when the Mexican fan and his wife came by.
"Is that Pacquiao?" he asked. "Oh, man."
Cruz shook hands with Pacquiao and told the Filipino superstar: "Man, you killed three of my fellow Mexicans. (Marco Antonio) Barrera, (Juan Manuel) Marquez and (Erik) Morales. They’re all good so you must be very good."
Pacquiao thanked the Mexican for the compliment.
Cruz even had his picture taken with Pacquiao, twice, using his cellular phone, and later asked who was up against the hard-hitting boxer from Gen. Santos City in Mindanao.
Told that it’s Solis, undefeated in 32 pro fights, who will climb the ring with Pacquiao on Saturday at the Alamodome, Cruz needed some time to shoot questions of his own.
"Solis? Jorge? Undefeated? I don’t think I know him," he said.
Solis is set to arrive Monday night. – Abac Cordero