Bobby Pacquiao: "Anything Can Happen"
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 05 Jun 2006
On Saturday, June 10, 2006 at the fame Madison Square Garden, the home of the New York Knicks, our very own Bobby Pacquiao tangles with Kevin Kelley, a cunning veteran of more than 60 fights under his belt. Kelley, who now calls Las Vegas as his home, is better known as the "Flushing Flash". He is a native New Yorker and could therefore conceivably enjoy a "home court advantage".
When I saw Bobby training at the Wildcard Gym last Wednesday, I asked him how he feels about his chances on this fight. His reply was: "I feel good and ready for this fight. Kelley is a veteran and has fought some good people in the past . That could be an advantage for him, so I preparing very hard. However, when the bell rings, it's only him and me on the ring so anything can happen. I however plan to win and make a statement for my self."
Kelley's more than 60 fights include TKO losses to Marco Antonio Barrera (4th) , Eric Morales (7th) and Naseem Hamed (4th). In his last fight, he scored a KO over Carlos Ramirez in the 2nd round of a 10 round fight. His record is 58-6-2 (39KO)
Bobby Pacquiao (left) in one of his sparring sessions at Freddie Roach's WildCard Gym in Los Angeles.
Bobby is managed in the US by Michael Koncz, and trains under the watchful eyes of Freddie Roach and Buboy Fernandez at the Wildcard Gym. He holds a 26-11-3 record. In his last three outings in the US, the results are as follows: Beat Carlos "Famoso" Hernandez via a controversial split decision. Bobby dropped Hernandez once during the fight but could not finish him off; KO'd Carlos Navarro in the 7th round of a 12 round fight and won over Oscar Villa via a unanimous decision over 8 rounds.
Bobby's demeanor during training sessions at the Wildcard Gym is marked by an intensity and focus that is easily evident to anyone watching him. This indicate that indeed, he is ready to put up a big show, win impressively and finally get off the shadow of his more famous brother, Manny. Hopefully with that, he can finally be his own man!
Bobby travels to New York early this week with Michael Koncz, trainer Buboy Fernandez and cut-man Justin Fortune so that his body clock can adjust to the time zone differences. New York time is 3 hours ahead of Los Angeles. He needs to travel early to brush off the possible effects of jet-lag.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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