Arum: Don't panic, Pacquiao will go camping in Mexican mountainsWith the wisdom born of 40 plus years as a wildly successful fight promoter, Bob Arum

With the wisdom born of 40 plus years as a wildly successful fight promoter, Bob Arum thinks the Pacquiao Worldwide Army (PWA) should take their collective fingers off the panic button.

I had a newsy and informative chat with Uncle Bob, the Top Rank ringmaster who will turn age 79 on Dec. 8, Monday night.

Using my special Uncle Bob decoder ring, I think I’ve deduced where the Pinoy Idol will launch his serious training for the Nov. 14 bout against the hard-hitting Boricua Miguel Cotto.

Arum told me Cancun was out (“too flat”) and that the Philippines and the Bahamas were also rejected by Megamanny as his camp base for the period before he winds up at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.

I joked with Arum about Outer Mongolia getting the Manny nod and then put myself in check. Holy jalapeno, Tio Roberto, I asked, what about the Mexican mountains of Toluca, not far from Mexico City?

“I can’t tell you,” Arum said. “So no comment.”

My special decoder ring buzzed and the steam kettle whistle inside it also sounded. I felt the guy who cracked the piñata with one swing of the bat.

Having said that, I could also be wrong but, as I’ve written before, Toluca makes mucho sense.

“I am not panicking,” Arum said. “I know Manny.

:We spoke this morning. I gave him the bad news on Freddie’s younger brother, Joey, and Manny was really shaken up. He said, ‘I know Joey, that’s the one who lives in Las Vegas. He later reached out to Freddie to express his condolences to him. Manny was totally unaware of it. He’d been shooting a movie or a TV show or something like that.”
And here I thought Pacman sat by his computer breathlessly awaiting my latest essay on Examiner.com and Boxingconfidential.

“No reason to panic, absolutely not,” Arum said of Pacman’s training regimen. “When we’re done with the press/publicity tour, which to New York, Puerto Rico, San Francisco and LA and then finishes (without Cotto) in San Diego Sept. 15, Manny is going to camp.

"Unlike most of these guys, Manny never balloons up in weight. He will have his usual, solid eight weeks.”

Arum said Cotto will keep working in Caguas, his hometown, and later relocate to Tampa.

Arum downplayed the public displays of dissension within the camp with Roach being “pissed off” on one side and agent Michael Koncz and lawyer Jeng Gacal carping on the other.

“That’s kid stuff, it’s really tame. It’s par for the course. It happens in fighter’s camps. Freddie is trying to do his job and the other guys feel he’s trying to do the manager’s job. Once they get to training camp, the other two don’t interfere. Once they get to camp, there is one boss and that is Manny but Manny listens to Freddie. So it all works out.”

Arum reiterated the the MGM Grand Arena is “virtually sold out” with some choice ringside seats remaining available.

“And we’re going to put in 15,000 closed circuit seats and tickets in Las Vegas also.”

So, while Pacmaniacs are spinning like gyroscopes, Uncle Bob says don’t worry, be happy.

Let the CRIMINALS, the VILLAINS, the MONSTERS and everyone else be afraid as Wapacman is coming soon!

Source: examiner.com