PACQUIAO RELAXED BUT READY TO RUMBLE
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 20 Nov 2013
MACAU, China ? ?Very excited and very eager to be atop the ring again,? Manny Pacquiao described himself early Monday evening upon arrival at The Venetian Macau Resort Hotel in this former Portuguese colony where he will be opposing Brandon Rios five days from now.
?It?s been a year, almost, since I last climbed the ring, so very excited na talaga ako at very eager na umakyat uli sa ring,? Pacquiao told this writer as he entertained his guests, made up of family members, members of his staff, religious group and plain hangers on at his suites in this luxurious hotel.
Relaxed and looking well-rested, the Filipino ring legend even played the piano and rendered several of his favorite songs to the delight of the crowd, some 156 of them who took a Philippine Airlines chartered flights with him and wife Jinkee from his hometown General Santos where he pitched camp for nine weeks partaking the hearty dinner of fried chicken, pansit, adobo and other Filipino foods.
Among those present were father Rosalio and mother Dionisia, who will be watching the fight together for the first time since their son fought Antonio Margarito three years ago in Arlington, Texas
?Love ko talaga ang music, kaya marunong akong tumugtog ng piano. Marunong din akong mag-gitara. Actually lahat kaming magkakapatid marunong tumugtog ng gitara,? he said. In reference to brothers Bobby, a former boxer, and Barangay chair Rogelio.
?I?m happy that, at last, tapos na ang preparasyon na walang nangyaring masama. Walang injury, walang anumang sakit na nangyari,? he said. ?Reding redi na talaga tayo, kahit kalian, kahit saan at kahit sino ang kalaban.?
?What I?m worried about really is what happened to our countrymen in the Visayas and Mindanao who fell victims to recent earthquake and typhoon that hit our country.. But, I know naman na makababangon sila tuland ng pagbangon nila sa lahat ng mga naunang kalamidad na sinapit nila.?
?Ang mga kababayan natin, actually ang magsislbing inspirasyon ko sa labang ito. They will be my added motivation para manalo ako at makabalik na muli sa boksing,? the soon-to-be 35 year-old fighting Congressman of Sarangani province intoned. ?Umasa sila na mananalo tayo ngayon, pakisabi mo lang sa istorya mo para mabasa nila,? he promised. ?There?s no way I would let myself lose this fight. Sabi nga natin, malaki ang naka-stake dito kaya laban tayo.?
Throughout the three-hour flight, Pacquiao entertained made the rounds of all the seats taken by 12 of the passengers in the business section and 144 others in the economy class, exchanging banters and even obliging for photo-op and signing autographs.
Yesterday, Pacquiao had a very light workout consisting of four rounds of mitts with trainer Freddie Roach coupled with working the balls. ?Everything ended in General Santos. No more sparring in this last week of preparations here,? Roach said after the workout . ?No more heavy stuffs. As I?ve been saying, we?re ready and Manny is rarin to go.?
It?s been, actually, a hectic three days for the eight-division champ, not inside the gym nor the road. Last Sunday, he attended three bible-preaching sessions that had him awake the whole day.
That notwithstanding, he met with several local government unit officials before watching a basketball game in the gym inside his a sprawling property where his Mansion 2 is located before taking the chartered flight. He had his last sparring session, a four-round skirmish with local junior welterweight Dan Nazareno, who will be fighting in one of the undercards, at the Pacman Wild Card Gym.
Photo: Pacquiao plays on the piano upon his arrival Monday night at The Venetian Macao. Photo by Wendell Rupert Alinea.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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