Manny Pacquiao

By nick giongco

LOS ANGELES — Manny Pacquiao was direct to the point when asked on Thursday what’s going through his mind concerning next week’s megabuck rubber match with Erik Morales set in Las Vegas.

His answer was short and simple, but it carried a wallop, like a knockout punch.

"I won’t let him win," Pacquiao told interviewers after his workout at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.

Only a handful of reporters — mostly foreigners — heard Pacquiao make what amounted to a prediction, something the Filipino boxer never ever makes. So in the next breath, he sashayed into his normal routine.

"I don’t like to predict (on the result of my fights). What I can only say is that I am ready to go and the people should expect a good fight," Pacquiao told reporters from the US and Mexico.

Later on, when Pacquiao was having a late lunch of fried rice, beef broccoli and pink salmon at a Thai restaurant just a stone’s throw from the gym, he was more vocal about his thoughts.

"I have never trained like this before. Dinoble namin ang lahat ng aspeto ng aking ensayo kaya’t hirap na hirap ako," said Pacquiao. "Pagdating sa roadwork at maging sa gym todo-todo ang iginagalaw ko."

Each morning, just before sunrise, Pacquiao either runs at the Pan Pacific Park in the La Brea area or ascends Griffith Park tagging along younger brother Bobby, super-flyweight Diosdado Gabi and Ernel Fontanilla, another fighter training at the Wild Card.

"Hindi sila makasabay kay Manny sa akyatan," said Pacquiao’s long-time training assistant Buboy Fernandez.

Nonoy Neri, another member of Pacquiao’s entourage, said Manny gets to the top first all the time.

"Ini-iwan niya ang mga kasabay sa takbuhan. Wala siyang kapaguran," said Neri, who, along with Fernandez, has been here since the first day Pacquiao showed up for practice at the Wild Card last September.

Pacquiao will just sweat it out and not engage in sparring on Friday since trainer Freddie Roach is out of town to assist another fighter. Roach said he will be back Saturday morning to watch Pacquiao’s last sparring session.

On Sunday, Team Pacquiao heads off to Las Vegas where a red carpet will be rolled to welcome his arrival at Wynn Las Vegas. Morales is flying in on Monday night from Toluca, Mexico.

Meanwhile, Filipino superbantam prospect Bernabe Concepcion arrived here on Thursday from Manila accompanied by chief handler Aljoe Jaro. Concepcion sees action on Nov. 16 at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas underneath the Bobby Pacquiao-Hector Velazquez headliner.