Pacquiao son raring to strut stuff at ‘Thrilla 2’ card

MANILA, Philippines — No pressure.

While there is a bit of nervousness for him, young boxer Eman Bacosa said he is “very excited” to fight in the undercard of the Thrilla in Manila II event at the historic Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Wednesday.

The undefeated Bacosa will be fighting with Nico Salado in a lightweight matchup on Wednesday.

The soft-spoken fighter, son of eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, said he is raring to go in the biggest fight thus far of his young career.

“Excited po. Medyo, medyo. Pero ano lang. Tiwala lang sa Panginoon,” he said.

Pacquiao is expected to be at the sidelines of the fight.

“Very, ano po ako… excited po [for Pacquiao to watch]. Pero, ano, focus lang po na sa fight po. No pressure,” added the 21-year-old Bacosa.

He said that the Filipino boxing legend gave him advice to be disciplined on and off the ring, as well as to stick to the game plan.

Asked if he will be going for the knockout in his match on Wednesday, Bacosa, who started to be interested in boxing at 10 years old and fell in love with the sport after watching his father fight Ricky Hatton and Shane Mosley, had a very short answer.

“Abangan niyo na lang bukas.”

Bacosa is holding a 6-0-1 win-loss-draw record with four knockouts. His opponent, Salado, holds a 2-1-1 slate.