Either Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao is too confident of beating reigning WBO welterweight champion American Jessie Vargas or he really wants to be a good Senator of the Philippines that he seems to be throwing all cushions to the wind with regards to his training and preparation for the fight scheduled on November 5 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Philippine Senate session will run up to a few days more after October 15 before it adjourns and that should leave Pacquiao a little over two weeks to make his intensive training and preparation for the bout with Vargas.
Once the Senate session adjourns, he will immediately fly to the US to make his last-minute training with Freddie Roach.
Three days after the fight day, or on November 8, Pacquiao needs to be back in the Philippines because the Senate would reopen its session then.
While boxing aficionados believe that Pacquaio has the edge over Vargas, some are not ruling out an upset because the Pacman does not want to interrupt his duties as a Senator in the Republic of the Philippines, details Fight Saga.
After the fight, he would not also be able to enjoy his well-deserved rest because he really wants to fulfill his obligations and mandate as a Senator of the Philippines and would be back in the Senate three days later.
Some setbacks already
Even before the fight with Vargas started, Pacquiao and his promotions company Top Rank, has had some debacles already.
First, Pacquiao’s pay-per-view bout with Vargas would essentially go head-to-head against the fight of Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward, another PPV bout happening in the same month, which boxing analysts describe as the biggest fight of the year.
HBO also refused to take part in Pacquiao’s fight because it wanted to make the fight happen either in October or December, which Pacquiao refused because the schedules will affect his work in the Philippine Senate.
In fact, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum explained in a recent interview as to why they are insisting that fight with Vargas be held on November 5. He said that it is because that is the only day that he could free Pacquiao from his work in the Senate.
Arum also explained that Manny has already said that he does not want to miss any Senate sessions and the Senate President also told him that they should be finished by October 15 or a few days after, and they would reconvene the Senate on November 8.
Some critics believe that Pacquiao’s outside-the-ring obligations and insanely busy schedule, he might not be in physical or psychological form to beat a young lion like Jessie Vargas.
Tried all kinds of drugs
Senator Manny Pacquiao has recently spoken to the local media in light of the country’s ongoing war against illegal drugs and he said that he tried all kinds of drugs while he was a teenager.
Pacquiao is very supportive of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in the latter’s campaign and crackdown on sellers and users of narcotics, reports USA Today.
The 37-year-old boxer from the southern Philippine province of General Santos said that he has tried many kinds and all types of drugs. He added that the President does not know his experience with drugs while he was still a teen. He said that President Duterte, contrary to some media claims, always gives a chance to people who want to be changed.
Incidentally, the WBO welterweight championship fight between Filipino boxing icon and Senator Manny Pacquiao against American Jessie Vargas on November 5 will be the perfect day for Filipino boxing enthusiasts.
For the first time in their respective careers, both Manny Pacquiao and promising Filipino boxer Nonito Donaire will be fighting on the same occasion as the latter will be defending his WBO super bantamweight belt against undefeated Jessie Magdaleno in the undercard.
Their respective fights would be two of the three title fights that would be featured in the Pacquiao-Vargas main event to be held at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 5.