Manny prays rosary

DALLAS – At exactly 8 p.m. Friday night (Texas time), WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao fell to his knees beside his huge, elevated, four-poster bed in suite No. 4397 at the 150-acre Gaylord Texan Hotel and Convention Center overlooking Lake Grapevine, near this city, and led in reciting the Holy Rosary.

Only about 10 persons were in the bedroom when Pacquiao started to pray. Among them were old friends Rey Golingan and Clem Asencio – both of General Santos City, Solar chairman Wilson Tieng, Solar president William Tieng and Solar vice president for production Erick Tam. As the rosary went on, Jinkee, her twin sister Janet, Joaquin Hagedorn, Boots Aniel and her sons Jason and Alex and a few others joined.

Pacquiao’s bedroom is in the far corner of the suite, which has a living room, dining room, kitchen and another bedroom. Beside Pacquiao’s bed is a giant photo of the champion, wearing a hat, with his daughter Queen Elizabeth.

Pacquiao was the rosary leader in all the five sorrowful mysteries. He also led in the litany after the rosary. At the end of the prayers, Pacquiao gamely posed for a few pictures with wellwishers then prepared to go to sleep as he thanked the guests for the visit.

Pacquiao said it was the eighth straight day that he prayed the rosary as a novena. He will complete the nine-rosary cycle at 3 p.m. on fight day. Before the rosary, Pacquiao said the prayer was for his fight against Clottey and for his family.

There are 1,511 guest rooms, including 127 suites, at the Gaylord Texan. The resort features 4 1/2 acres of indoor gardens, three atriums and winding waterways under an enormous glass ceiling stopped off with a huge Texan star that lights up at night.

Not too many fans realize that the Cowboys Stadium got Top Rank chairman Bob Arum’s nod to host this morning’s card only after the MGM Grand in Las Vegas turned it down.

MGM Grand couldn’t commit its calendar for the Pacquiao-Clottey fight because there was a chance that Golden Boy would be able to swing a Floyd Mayweather Jr. bout on that same day. MGM Grand rolled the dice and Cowboys Stadium owner Jerry Jones won it.

Not only did MGM Grand lose the opportunity to host another Pacquiao fight but Mayweather decided to move his date with Sugar Shane Mosley to May 1.

“Had the MGM accepted Pacquiao-Clottey, it would have a full casino and still would have the Mayweather-Mosley fight in the hole in seven weeks,” wrote Kevin Iole in Yahoo! Sports.

The $1.2 billion, three million square foot Cowboys Stadium sits over 100,000 for baseball but will be split in half to welcome the fans for the Pacquiao-Clottey duel. A few days ago, it was reported that 41,000 of 45,000 tickets in the market had been sold. Pay-per-view sales (a hit is $39.95) aren’t expected to breach the one million mark and anywhere between 600,700 to 700,000 will be considered a success, considering Clottey is a poor substitute for Mayweather.

Jones, 67, is the owner of the NFL team Dallas Cowboys, the first team in history to win three Super Bowls in four seasons.

When the Pacquiao-Mayweather bout was in the works, Jones put up a monstrous $25 million bid to host what has been touted as the fight of the decade. But Mayweather’s promoter Golden Boy mysteriously refused to entertain the offer, even declining an invitation just to visit the gigantic facility which has 1,100 concession booths, 1,600 toilets and over 3,000 digital displays.

It was rumored that Mayweather wanted no part of Texas because the state athletic commission bans the use of a drug that Pretty Boy takes as a pain killer. The rumor has not been confirmed. If the rumor is true, then Mayweather is a hypocrite for ranting about Pacquiao’s supposed use of enhancement drugs.

For the Pacquiao-Clottey fight, Jones bid $7 million and Arum signed up. Ticket prices for the fight range from $33 to $2,730 for a center ringside seat. The world’s largest high-definition screen, measuring 60 by 170 feet, will loom over the 50-yard line of the football field where the ring will be perched on the star logo.

Another little-known fact is Jones was offered to invest in Pacquiao’s future in 2004 by the Filipino icon’s then promoter Murad Muhammad. Jones refused and now, regrets the decision.

Last month, the Cowboys Stadium drew over 108,000 fans to witness the NBA All-Star Game and next year, it will host the Super Bowl. Jones said Pacquiao’s fight will establish the building as a prime location for boxing.

Ring announcer Michael Buffer describes the facility as “the eighth wonder of the world.”

Jones, who made his fortune in oil and gas exploration, said, “The goal of the stadium is to have it recognized all over the world as a place to compete and a place of importance. You get someone like Pacquiao in here, it earns that. You get the Cowboys and New York Giants in here, it earns that. You get an NBA All-Star Game in here, it earns that. You put the Super Bowl in here, it lifts all boats.”