Sunday, September 24, 2006 Pinoy boxer signs deal with Dela Hoya outfit
It seems Manny Pacquiao isn’t only busy preparing for his third fight against Erik Morales, he’s also busy switching camps.
The 27-year-old Filipino superstar has reportedly signed up a seven-fight contract with Golden Boy Promotions, the outfit of Oscar dela Hoya.
Espn.com reported the signing during a secret dinner last Monday with de la Hoya, GBP CEO Richard Schaefer, Freddie Roach and Jeng Gacal, Pacquiao’s attorney.
The dinner was held just a day before the scheduled press conference of the Pacquaio-Morales III.
ALA Boys promoter Sammy Gello-ani, though, confirmed the deal to Sun.Star Cebu. Gello-ani said he got the confirmation from Golden Boy insider Leon Panoncillo Jr.
"(GBP) wanted Pacquiao very much," ALA Boys manager Antonio Lopez Aldeguer said.
Involvement
The ALA Gym had been involved with the affairs of the Golden Boy Promotions since two of its stars—Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista and Z Gorres”—signed up with the outfit.
The report said Pacquiao didn’t want the signing to be publicized to avoid jeopardizing his Nov. 18 fight against Morales, which is being promoted by Top Rank, GBP’s rival.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao’s training also suffered a momentary glitch with Roach having to personally check him at his rented apartment after the Filipino star failed to show up in training according to a report posted at Philboxing.com.
Surprise
Roach was reportedly surprised when instead of a sick Pacquiao, he saw the Pinoy icon strumming a guitar.
The Filipino star was reportedly not feeling well as he felt chills all over his body after lunch and assured Roach that he will pick up training the next day.
Roach, who earlier said they will go for a seventh-round knockout, is trying to avoid making the same mistake in the first fight, when he admitted they underestimated Morales, who was then fresh from a 12-round loss to Marco Antonio Barrera.
“He (Morales) has nothing to lose now. And he’s going to give it his all, it's going to be a real tough fight for the first five rounds.
I expect it to be a real tough fight and think Manny will break him down just like last time, and Erik will fade late in the fight because he's been in a lot of wars,” Roach told maxboxing.com. (ML/RCM)
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