adminMACAU – Manny Pacquiao has compared his imminent war with Brandon Rios to the fable of David and Goliath. The Filipino returns to the boxing ring for the first time since his devastating and brutal knockout by Juan Manuel Marquez last year.
But he is confident he can resurrect his career in the gambling mecca of Macau on Saturday night.
“Am I confident for my fight with Rios? I am more than confident,” said Pacquiao. “Rios is bigger than me. Remember Goliath was bigger than David and yet David needed just one stone to fell the giant.
“I enter this fight stronger than ever. I have the strength of my country and my people coursing through my body. I fight for them, not for me. I fight for their glory, not mine.”
Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach, meanwhile, has predicted an early night for his most illustrious pupil.
“Manny’s last training session was nothing short of amazing,” he said. “We were supposed to do six rounds on the mitts and I cut it off after four rounds. They were the best four rounds of mitts I have ever done with Manny.
“He was blazing; he was throwing the heat. This was the happiest and most productive camp I have had with Manny in years.
“I know I predicted that Manny would knock Rios out inside six rounds but based on our last workout, I don’t see how Rios makes it past the fourth round.”
Rios, who demonstrated his warrior spirit in back-to-back epics with Mike Alvarado, is confident he can absorb Pacquiao’s power however.
“I want to feel Manny’s power; I want to feel all of it,” he said. “This is the first training camp I have kept to the game plan and done everything I was told to do.
“Manny Pacquiao is a big step (but) I am going to shut everyone up and prove I am the best.
“The second Alvarado fight was my bad. I was focused on knocking him out and that’s how I trained and fought, throwing one shot at a time trying to land that knockout punch.
“It was also the first time I ever lifted weights and by the third round I was slowing down. This time I am focusing on winning, not on the knockout, and Robert (Garcia) and his dad have designed a lot of ways for me to do that.
“I know we are in Manny’s backyard and I want to win every round. I have trained not to give up a minute to Manny Pacquiao.”
Meanwhile, Michael Koncz, Pacquiao’s de facto manager, was hospitalised on Tuesday, and suffered a mild heart attack, Pacquiao publicist Fred Sternburg confirmed. Stephanie Domingo, Koncz’s assistant, said he was resting comfortably.
Koncz had been hospitalised on Sunday Macau time from what he said was a mild case of Bell’s Palsy.
On Tuesday, Koncz was in the gym walking around talking with people as Pacquiao worked out. He looked as if he didn’t feel well, but he did not appear to be in significant distress. Sean Gibbons, who is working with Team Pacquiao, said he was hopeful Koncz would be released soon. – Mailonline.
Online Reporter