Pacquiao Tells Fans Not To Worry!

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Filipino ring idol and national treasure Manny Pacquiao left for the US Tuesday night telling his fans not to worry about his reported lack of training for his July 2 showdown against former two-time super bantamweight champion Oscar Larios.

When his mother Dionisia told him of her concern about his many endorsements and other activities which left him hardly any time to train with the fight drawing near, Dionisia Pacquiao said her son told her “don’t worry I have more than a month to train. That’s enough. I can handle Larios.”

Pacquiao’s mother told Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today that she had checked whether her son had been training while in Manila and was informed that he had been jogging regularly.

She said Pacquiao asked his fans to continue praying for him and said he would begin intensive training when he steps into the Wild Card Gym of Freddie Roach today.

There has been concern expressed over Pacquiao’s tendency to take Larios lightly despite warnings from Roach, the head of his management team Shelly Finkel and respected Ring Magazine editor-in-chief Nigel Collins.

Collins said Larios was “not a pushover” like Fahsan 3K Battery who Pacquiao knocked out in the fourth round in his last appearance before 30,000 screaming hometown fans at The Fort in Taguig in December 2004. Collins said Larios is a “tall and versatile fighter who can fight on the inside or at long range.” He noted that while Larios was dropped by reigning super bantamweight champion Israel Vasquez in his last bout, Larios survived the knockdown and was fighting back on fairly even terms when the fight was stopped due to a cut suffered by Larios.”

The Ring Magazine editor-in-chief also indicated that moving up in weight from 122 to 130 pounds “might actually benefit Larios” who has been fighting at 122 pounds for a long time. Collins added “let’s not forget that Pacquiao is relatively small to be fighting at 130” which is the same observation of Larios who belittled Pacquiao saying “he is a small guy and bloated up.”

Collins however concluded by saying Pacquiao should overpower Larios in six or seven rounds “provided he concentrates on training and not promoting” but warned that Larios is “not a pushover and Manny should not tale him lightly.”

I smell an upset, I think a month is too short notice for someone like larios