TWO DAYS TO FIGHTNIGHT: Pacquiao Is One Cool Cowboy

Credit must be given to Manny Pacquiao…wait, lemme finish, you all who think weve anointed the guy to sainthood…for one aspect of the Pacquiao package which hasnt been discussed all that much.

The man has the patience of a, you guessed it, saint, which weve seen on display as hes fielded questions ad neauseum leading in to the showdown Saturday in Dallas. How many times can the guy hear a variation on the query Have you been distracted and is your condition subpar? without getting irked?

Time and again and again Pacquiao answers queries from the press, usually one of about five stock questions, and the dude always answers patiently, and usually with a smile.

We had a problem the first three weeks in the Philippines…blah blah blah, Manny says, giving no hint that hes answered the same damned questions one thousand times before…this week. Did Margarito know? Is Floyd scared? Will you retire soon? Who would blame him if he just handed out a sheet with FAQs and answers written on it?

Maybe one of the old timers–Marley? Bos?–can answer me what other fighter was as cool a customer as he counted down to fight night.

Most guys would have their game face on. Most guys would have that sort of angry, ultra-focused face on, and Pacquiao has none of that as he helps sell another few thousand more seats at Cowboys Stadium. We are pretty certain his promoter, Top Rank, knows what a stellar salesman this guy is, but lets add Manny is the patron saint of above and beyond patient press relations to the Manny pantheon.

—The Margarito camp mocks Freddies Parkinsons story kept on blazing today. Margarito and Brandon Rios apologized explicitly this morning. Manny was asked about the hubbub, which stems from the video which made the rounds yesterday which showed Margarito, trainer Robert Garcia, and sparring mate Brandon Rios, as well as other camp possemembers, laughing at Margarito and then Rios mimicry of Roach, trembling. I hope theyll apologize to Freddie Roach because its not good to do that to a person like Freddie Roach, Manny said on Thursday afternoon, during yet another media session. My take–Rios is a kid, which doesnt excuse his foolish jest, but we have all said moronic things in our younger days. He has a fight coming up, theres been a back and forth battle between camps, and tensions bubbled over. No excuse for such ignorant actions, but it doesnt stoop to David Haye territory.

—Check back a bit later to read about my fruitful chat with Top Rank new media honcho Todd duBoef.