ARUM PLANS PACQUIAO VICTORY RALLY IN MANILA
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 04 Oct 2008
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, one of the most astute men in boxing, plans a Pacquiao victory rally in Manila and has even picked a December 12 date, one day before a big Top Rank promotion in Macao.
Arum spoke about the plans for a victory rally during the promotional tour stop in Chicago following the kickoff launch of the "Dream Match" between Filipino ring idol and national treasure Manny Pacquiao and "The Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on December 6.
Special correspondent and former Channel 4 news anchor Romy Sager in a report for www.insidesports.ph, Manila Standard and Viva Sports said Arum together with the reigning WBC lightweight champion's entourage as well as De La Hoya's were in Chicago Thursday, October 2, (Friday in Manila) on a second leg of a six-city tour of major cities in the US to promote the December 6 mega fight.
In an interview at the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago, Arum told Sager he was confidentt of the Filipino fighter?s victory conceding that while Oscar ?Golden Boy? dela Hoya?s height; weight and reach are advantages, Manny Pacquiao?s ?speed kills.?
Celebrated trainer Freddie Roach who said Pacquiao will be sparring against heavier, taller fighters starting next week, agreed with Arum and promised ?I?ll be there? at Manny Pacquiao?s pre-Christmas victory rally in the Philippines.
Asked to comment on the hype about the victory rally, the Filipino champion, always humble and elusive about predictions, said ?malalaman lang nating ?yan pag-akyat namin sa ring.? His lawyer and adviser Franklin ?Jeng? Gacal refused to be baited by Arum?s rhetoric saying ?that?s typical of Bob (Arum) to say things like those when he is promoting a fight.?
Gacal sounded a note of caution during an interview for www.insidesports.ph, Manila Standard and Viva Sports during a brief interview at the 103rd floor or Sky Deck of Sears Tower, a Chicago landmark and one of the tallest buildings in the world.
Sager noted that Pacquiao,in a departure from his previous routine while training and fighting in the US, for the first time paid a courtesy call on the officers and staff of the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago which has jurisdiction over Filipino communities in 16 states and key cities in the US Midwest.
?Filipinos in this part of the US are praying and hoping for your victory on December 6,? Consul General Blesila Cabrera assured the Filipino champion, who in turn reiterated that he is into this fight for his country and the Filipino people. Pacquiao, while in Chicago, was also scheduled to appear at a concert where a ?meet and greet? with Filipino-American fans would cost $20 while dinner and concert was pegged at $50. He did the same thing at the Sheraton, Newark where the cost was $25 and the entertainers were singer-composer Lito Camo and the lovely and talented Jasmine Villegas.
The proceeds from these events would be channeled to a worthy cause - The Manny Pacquiao Sports Foundation. The event was sponsored by New Jersey-based Calla Lily Entertainment.
Sager reorted that Oscar De La Hoya who was surrounded by hoardes of broadcast and print media admitted his motivation for the fight is to face the best fighters in the world. ?Manny Pacquiao is one of them and should serve as an exclamation point of my 15-year boxing career.?
Dela Hoya is still apparently pained by the contract signed and then withdrawn by Manny Pacquiao with Golden Boy Promotions. Addressing media people, dela Hoya recalled how he ?looked at Manny?s eyes and saw the sincerity and honesty and the Filipino?s word of honor.? Dela Hoya declined the aborted contract was an extra motivation for him to face Pacquiao.
Chicago-born and raised former Lightweight Champion David Diaz was among those present at the ?Dream Match? promotional and open press conference in the Windy City.
?Manny has a chance and that?s all a fighter can ask for,? said Diaz when Viva Sports spoke to Diaz at the lobby of Sears Tower. He reiterated what Freddie Roach has been saying all along that Oscar dela Hoya has never or refused to face a lefty throughout his career.
Diaz, a Mexican-American like Oscar dela Hoya, was unequivocal in supporting the Filipino boxer that demolished him barely three months ago also in Las Vegas He said he will only visit the Philippines when Manny Pacquiao is in the country and not on a tour or fighting somewhere. ?Siguro sa birthday ko,? Manny said on the open invitation for David Diaz to visit Manila.
What is next for Manny Pacquiao is something Bob Arum did not want to talk about until after the ?Dream Match.? Arum confided to the www.insidesports.ph, Viva Sports and Manila Standard special correspondent that England?s Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton is the likely and preferred fighter to face Pacquiao after the ?Dream Match? simply because of the worldwide exposure it brings to the table.
From Chicago, Pacquiao and dela Hoya are proceeding to Houston and San Antonio in Texas, then to San Francisco and Los Angeles in California.
Top photo: Top Rank president Bob Arum (C) speaks to the media as De La Hoya (L) and Pacquiao listen during their promotional stop in Chicago on Oct. 2. Photo by Hoganphotos / Golden Boy Promotions.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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