Pacquiao reaches Texas

Biggest entourage ever flies to Dallas in style

By Roy Luarca
Philippine Daily Inquirer

DALLAS—From a convoy of vehicles to a customized luxury bus. This time, a chartered jet flies the world’s top boxer.

Pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and his mammoth entourage arrived here in style from Los Angeles late Monday on a 170-seater Boeing 737, emblazoned with fighting images of the Filipino superstar.

After the two-hour, 20-minute trip, the seven-time world champion in as many weight divisions still had time to reflect on his World Boxing Organization welterweight title defense against Ghanaian challenger Joshua Clottey this Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“I’ll put up a great show for fight fans,” said Pacquiao, who won his two battles—against Marco Antonio Barrera in 2003 and Jorge Solis in 2007—in this huge state, which prides itself with the slogan “Everything is Bigger in Texas.”

After a photo shoot with the media at a private airport near Dallas, Manny’s wife Jinkee and the rest of the 141-strong Team Pacquiao, motored to the opulent Gaylord Texan Hotel in three buses and two Lincoln Navigators.

The entourage was treated to a catered dinner of chicken adobo, beef steak, bulalo, fried boneless milkfish, sweet and sour pork, cassava, peach cakes and fruits.

Fight promoter Top Rank earlier gave the group big a sendoff at the Atlantic airport in Los Angeles. An all-girls cheering squad and a four-man band performed for Pacquiao as he walked the red carpet toward the waiting plane.

In his previous fights, Pacquiao left Los Angeles in a convoy of vehicles. Top Rank boss Bob Arum later hired a luxury bus that had the Filipino ring icon’s image all over it.

This time, Top Rank wrote a check for $100,000 (about P4.6 million) for the chartered flight on a modified 737 aircraft dubbed “Air Pacquiao.” The plane is similar to the ones used by the likes of the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and other professional teams.

After an early-morning run, Pacquiao is slated to hold his media workout Tuesday afternoon at a makeshift ring in the basement of the 1,511-room hotel.

Clottey arrived Monday from New York on a commercial flight.

Pacquiao’s entourage was the biggest thus far since he started campaigning in the United States in 2001.

source: inquirer.net