JUST 10 more days.
Such was the title of Manny Pacquiao's column that was posted on Philboxing.com website as he reminded his horde of Filipino fans in Tagalog that his coming fight with Joshua Clottey is just around the corner.
The Filipino boxing hero issued the memo as he reiterated his call for support from his adoring countrymen in his fight with Clottey on March 13 (March 14 in Manila) at the Comboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
"Muli ko pong hihingin ang supporta n'yo sa labang ito. Hindi lamang po ito aking laban, kundi nating lahat na mga Pilipino (I'm asking for your support once again for this fight. This is not just my fight but a fight of all Filipinos)," Pacquiao said.
The 31-year-old Pacquiao, who hails from General Santos City, said he is more than ready to rumble with Clottey, the boxer from Ghanan who is naturally the bigger fighter between the two.
Pacquiao said he sparred with 19-year-old Irish pug Jamie Kavanagh for 10 rounds just recently and declared the session turned out good. He said he will continue to work hard in his final days of preperation under the watchful eye of famed American trainer Freddie Roach and the rest of his coaching staff.
Pacquiao held his final media workout Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) and apperaed to be in great shape for the 12-round showdown of his WBO welterweight crown.
Roach, who will be turning 50 tomorrow, said his prized fighter can knock Clottey out inside nine rounds, although Top Rank's Bob Arum thinks otherwise.
Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, said it would be too difficult to knock Clottey out because of his physical advantage over the Filipino.
Clottey held his own media workout Thursday (Friday in Manila) at Kingway Gym in New York. He will be coming in the underdog on fight night.