Interview with Manny Pacquiao

Interview with Manny Pacquiao - Part Four

By Media Report on Doghouse Boxing (March 1, 2010)

Are you surprised there has been no mention of drug testing between Mayweather and Mosley?

BOB ARUM: You don’t have to be geniuses to know what they were trying to do. They were trying to get into his {Pacquiao’s] head. Get him completely discombobulated so he would be easy pickings for Mayweather and if they couldn’t and he said no because of the bullying, Mayweather would get his wish and not have to fight Manny. Mayweather against Manny is a no-contest. Manny would wipe the ring with Floyd Mayweather.

Manny, are you expecting support of the Latinos in Dallas?

MANNY PACQUIAO: I am expecting a lot of Mexican fans to be at the fight.

Has it been difficult to create a buzz around this fight to the general public?

BOB ARUM: To be frank, we had to overcome disappointment. People were looking forward to a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight. That is clear. Manny has a huge fan base. He has crossed over. Our job is to present Joshua Clottey as he is. A bigger guy. A stronger guy. A guy who has never been off his feet. A real test for Manny Pacquiao. That is what will sell this fight. You can’t say there are two household names fighting on March 13th, Clottey is a well-respected welterweight. He lost a very close decision to Miguel Cotto in his last fight. He won the title by stopping Zab Judah. He is a formidable opponent but I think that the public gets it. The pay-per-view at $49.95 is going to do extremely well and we are very pleased with the ticket sales at Cowboys Stadium.

Would you agree that Manny has become a cross-over star?

BOB ARUM: 100% correct. That was our goal when we started with Manny was to break him out from the Filipino base that he had. We were able to pick up millions of Hispanic fans and we have broken him in to the general conscience of the people around the world. He is truly a crossover star. How many fighters of our time go on Jimmy Kimmel Live and go on Good Morning America and have a big article coming out in Time magazine? I think that is saying something.

CONTINUE:

Interview with Manny Pacquiao - Part Five - Mr

BACK:

Interview with Manny Pacquiao - Part Three - Mr

NEW: Follow DoghouseBoxing on FaceBook!

For much more, visit our homepage.
Or for FREE Chat with Boxing Fans,
visit our Forums.
DoghouseBoxing