By NICK GIONGCO
Manila Bulletin
NEW YORK — Manny Pacquiao watched his younger brother Bobby punished by Humberto Soto Saturday and vowed to exact revenge if and when he gets to meet the undefeated Mexican.
Chances are the fight will push through this year. Both Pacquiao and Soto are managed by Top Rank which, however, remains non-commital.
Both Pacquiao and Soto are looking forward to the fight that could be held Sept. 15 or Oct. 6.
"Soto will be lucky to go 12 rounds with me," said Pacquiao a few hours after witnessing Bobby’s brutal knockput loss at Madison Square Garden. "The result would have not been like that if I was on the opposite corner of Soto."
Soto, on the other hand, is raring to test the mettle of Pacquiao, regarded by many as the world’s best boxer today pound for pound.
"I am hoping that my promoter (Top Rank) will be able to arrange a fight for me against Pacquiao," said Soto, who improved to 42-5-2 with 26 knockouts. "I am ready for Pacquiao," said Soto.
Pacquiao is happy to oblige.
"I am accepting his challenge for us to fight. Now, we will know how strong and good he is and this is one reason why I will train very hard," said Pacquiao, whose last fight, an eight-round destruction of another Mexican, Jorge Solis, was held last April 14 in San Antonio, Texas.
Mean while, Bobby Pacquiao is not closing the doors on a comeback fight despite suffering a stinging seventh-round knockout.
"I would like to fight and get back into winning," said Pacquiao at his 16th floor room at the Affinia in Manhattan where a mass was celebrated by Palawan native Fr. Marlon Beof.
Pacquiao said he was never the same again when he sustained a hideous cut in the fourth round allegedly on an accidental headbutt that later revealed several stitches to close.
"I could not see well because the blood was flowing into my eyes," said Pacquiao, who was counted out at 1:48 by referee Gary Rosato after getting floored by a wicked left hook to the ribcage set up by a crippling right straight to the jaw.
Pacquiao was in a kneeling position in his own corner when the third man on the ring reached the count of 10, his face a grotesque mask owing to the blood that spilled out of the cut.
Pacquiao was never expected to go way past seven rounds by ringsiders since Soto is a solid campaigner with excellent skills as well.
But the younger brother of Manny put up a splendid showing as he even rocked Soto with a thunderous right in the fourth round shortly after the cut appeared.
With blood all over his face in the following rounds, Pacquiao tried his best to land another big shot but Soto wisely evaded trouble and softened up his Filipino foe for the kill with well-timed combinations.
"I felt his punch (in the fourth round) but I still believed that I was in complete control of the match," Soto told the Filipino media afterwards.
All three judges had Soto winning the scheduled 10-rounder when the roof caved in on Pacquiao, who received a count in the first round when Soto caught him with a left to the head. ESPN.com reported that Soto took home $ 150,000, while the vanquished Pacquiao earned $ 135,000.
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