GENERAL SANTOS CITY – It’s official. NBA star Derrick Rose will get a VIP ticket for the upcoming Pacquiao-Broner fight on January 19, 2019 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Joe Ramos, the CEO of MP Promotions gave the assurance on Sunday and said:
“Derrick Rose is a good friend and avid fan of boss Manny. I’ll make sure he gets a free VIP ticket for the fight.”
Pacquiao, boxing’s only eight-division champ and the reigning World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight titleholder, had invited several friends from the National Basketball Association (NBA) to watch his ring return in U.S. soil.
One of those who responded was Rose, who relayed his enthusiasm to Homer D. Sayson, the U.S. bureau chief of Boxing News and Views and a mutual friend to both PacMan and the three-time All-Star who is currently starring with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Rose, after being named the NBA Rookie of the Year at age 22, became the youngest player in NBA history to win the coveted Most Valuable Player Award in 2011.
“We will be greatly honored to have Rose with us during the fight in Las Vegas. His support is actually a big boost for the Pacquiao-Broner fight,” Ramos said.
Rose’s official twitter account, @drose, has about 2.5 million followers.
Meanwhile, Nonoy Neri, assistant conditioning coach of Pacquiao, has assured the Pacquiao fans that they have nothing to worry as far as training and conditioning of Pacman are concerned.
“We are just on schedule. Pacman was able to miss a few training sessions due to his busy working schedule, but we still have about a month left to get him on tiptop shape. We knew exactly how hard he trains, so we have nothing to worry about,” Neri claimed.
Neri said no need to rush him (Pacquiao) up, adding that “We just had our previous fight last July so he’s still in good shape actually.”
Neri said Pacquiao has demonstrated amazing punching power, speed and stamina right from the start of the formal training camp last month.
“We have a great training camp during the last fight against Lucas Matthysse. I hope and pray, we can replicate this for the whole duration of the training camp. The training team here composed of Buboy Fernandez, Justin Fortune, Roger “Haplas” Fernandez and myself is having a great fun and an excellent working relationship,” Neri disclosed.
When asked about his honest assessment of Adrien Broner’s ability as a boxer, Fortune said “He’s young and fast but he’s nowhere near Manny Pacquiao when it comes to punching power.”
The assumption of Joe Ramos as the new head of MP Promotions is a plus factor.
Ramos is a pure Filipino by blood and the team members, Pacman’s VIP guests including avid fans, are expecting an honest dealings, evenhanded treatment and respect from him.
The coming in of Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Championships (PBC) as promotional partner of MP Promotions in the US has opened new opportunities not just for Pacquiao but also for budding Asian fighters.
Ramos claimed two Filipino fighters will be fighting in the undercard of the January 19 Pacquiao-Broner title fight.
Members of Team Pacquiao well appreciated the first-rate treatment afforded by its counterpart in the US during the press tour for the Pacquiao-Broner title match.
“We were delighted by and thankful for the first-class treatment we got from Al Haymon during the press tour,” Ramos said.
The Filipino boxing icon and his team will fly out on December 22 to the US where the crucial last four weeks of his training camp will be held.