THE PACIFIC STORM HITS L.A. AND OH, HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED!
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 25 Oct 2009
Los Angeles, CA:- No silly, it is not the kind of storm that brought rains, flooding and general havoc in the Philippines in the past weeks.
It is Manny ”Pacman” Pacquiao, the world’s best pound for pound boxer and a legitimate superstar.
Pacquiao touched down at LAX tonight (Saturday, LA Time) via Philippines Airlines a little after 7:00 pm. He breezed through customs and immigration and was out of the secured area in less than 30 minutes.
Needless to say, a legion of “Pacnuts” and the Pacquiao Team LA were there to meet the champ. Of course, others classified as “hangers-on” as well as pure boxing fans were there too. All together they created a chaotic welcome for the Pacman that could have easily resulted to a security nightmare.
The fans were so many that even taking photos was extremely difficult. I only got a couple of decent shots and that was not until Pacquiao was already inside the SUV.
The LA Team Pacquiao was efficient. They got their boss in the SUV rather quickly and they were gone before more people could react to his arrival.
Other noteworthy people who were on the same flight include the famed trainer at the Wildcard Gym, Freddie Roach and his conditioning guru, Alex Ariza.
Pacquiao takes a rest tomorrow (Sunday) and then on Monday, he will start his final push to hit tip top condition for his fight against Miguel Cotto on November 14th at the MGM at Las Vegas.
The number of people that met Pacquiao was something to behold. In fact, even the guy who collects parking fees as I drove off the parking structure near the Bradley Terminal asked me:- “Man, who the hell was that? He must really be important to create such a crowd.”
I told him it was Manny Pacquiao and his reply was “No shit, he is here already?”
Man, how times have really changed!
Welcome home, Manny. We wish you the best as you go through the last days of training.
Good Luck. We know you will make us proud again!
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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