(Ni EDDIE G. ALINEA)

LOS ANGELES – Nabulaga ang mga bisitang manonood kay eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao sa nadatnang karatula sa loob ng Wild Card Gym nap ag-aari ni training consultant Freddie Roach dito.

Nakasulat kasi ang ganito: “Thurman is slower than Heinz Ketchup. Manny will beat him 57 ways on July 20.”

Ipinaliwanag ni Roach ang ibig sabihin ng karatulang iyon, na nagmula sa napanood niyang commercial sa telebisyon ng sikat na brand ng nasabing ketsup, kung saan makikita kung gaano kabagal lumabas ng laman mula sa botelya nito.

“It means Thurman is much, much slower than how the ketchup flows from the bottle, right?” natatawang wika ni Fred Sternberg, President ng isang communication company na namamahala sa isang sports public relations at publicist ni Pacquiao.

“Precisely,” sagot naman ni Roach.

At saan naman nanggaling ang ’Manny will beat him 57 ways on July 20?”

Ayon kay Roach, base sa nasabing tv commercial, may 57 varieties ang nasabing brand at iyon ang nakatakdang gawin ni Pacquiao kay Thurman sa kanilang paghaharap sa MGM Grand Garden Arena sa Las Vegas.

“Well, you see, the brand is advertised  to have 57 varieties, which means Manny will beat Thurman as many times the number of that brand’s varieties,” sagot ng 7-time Trainer of the Year awardee ng Boxing Writers Association of America sabay ngiting abot sa magkabilang tainga.

“After lagging behind the odds in the early going Manny is now leading in the betting,” paliwanag ni Roach . “I am just trying to dramatize what is obvious.”