Bob Arum Predicts a Close Fight!

An insight from Bob Arum on The Will to Win:

THE OCTOBER 6 rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera is "going to be a very close competitive fight," Top Rank big boss Bob Arum told a leading website yesterday.

"I don’t know if it’s going to be a repeat performance," Arum told boxingtalk.net. "I am concerned that Manny Pacquiao is not training in Los Angeles. Barrera’s the kind of fighter, that when everybody counts him out, he gives an unbelievable performance. I am not looking for a repeat of what happened a number of years ago, when Pacquiao first fought Barrera."

Pacquiao stopped Barrera in the 11th round in November, 2003 in San Antonio, Texas.

Arum, who co-promotes the 12-rounder at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions (GBP), admitted that the Filipino’s decision to cut short his Wild Card stint in favor of Cebu wasn’t a good idea but trainer Freddie Roach’s presence makes up for that.

"Yes, but one thing we have going for us is that Freddie is over there training with him. We get reports from Freddie every couple of days," added Arum.

Barrera is also in the thick of training in his adopted hometown of Guadalajara.

"Barrera is very determined and focused (on winning)," said GBP publicist Ramiro Gonzalez, who spent four days covering Barrera’s training recently.

Barrera regularly works out at the Gold’s Gym with the help of chief sparmate Takahiro Aoh of Japan, said to be a Pacquiao copycat.

Barrera, who turns 34 in January, is the huge underdog in the pay-per-view match billed "The Will To Win."

—Nick GIONGCO