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Pacquiao ready for Floyd, Hatton, says top confidant
Written by staff   
Tuesday, 16 December 2008 03:42

Pacquiao ready for Floyd, Hatton, says top confidantThe Filipino understudy of Freddie Roach believes Manny Pacquiao is more than willing and able to take on all comers, including Floyd Mayweather and Ricky Hatton, for a proposed fight in early-May 2009.

Buboy Fernandez said Pacquiao’s masterful eighth-round stoppage of Oscar De La Hoya last Dec. 6 in Las Vegas, only proves that the Filipino pound-for-pound king is capable of handling challenges within reasonable limits, hinting that Pacquiao can go up or down certain weight requirements and still retain his power and flexibility.

"A lot of experts thought that Manny might become slower and his punches might not be strong enough to hurt someone as big as De La Hoya but look at what happened," said Fernandez yesterday from General Santos City, where a big party will be held tomorrow night celebrating not only Pacquiao’s victory but his 30th birthday as well.

"Instead of becoming sluggish, Manny was even deadlier and I believe that at 140 lbs (super-lightweight/junior-welterweight), he will be more difficult to deal with," added Fernandez, who has been Pacquiao’s companion while training at the Wild Card since 2002.

Fernandez only missed Pacquiao’s first two fights on US soil, against South Africa’s Lehlo Ledwaba and Dominican Republic’s Agapito Sanchez, but made his corner debut in June 2002 when Pacquiao stopped Jorge Eliecer Julio in Memphis, Tennessee.

Since then, Fernandez has become a valuable presence in Pacquiao’s corner assuming three roles — training assistant, translator and motivator.

Told about Top Rank chief Bob Arum’s proposal that Pacquiao return to the ring either on May 2 or May 9, Fernandez excitingly said "that would be perfect."

The venue has yet to be determined although initial reports point to Wembley Arena in London as the location of Pacquiao’s clash with Hatton.

But since Pacquiao is a tried and tested attraction in Las Vegas, there’s a huge possibility that the fight would eventually land in Sin City.

"Manny is not ducking anyone and we feel confident that we can beat these two guys with hard training," Fernandez said.

For the De La Hoya battle, Pacquiao spent nine weeks honing his skills under Roach, the longest ever training camp for a fight, and Fernandez never left Pacquiao’s side even in one instance.
 
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