INQUIRER Sports

INSTEAD OF TRYING TO STOP THE DEC. 6 superfight between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya, Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella on Saturday said his colleagues in the Lower House must first tackle more important issues like the reproductive bill, the 2009 budget and contaminated milk.

“Fights like that should not be relegated to the opinion of the Congress. There are a lot of people like Freddie Roach who trained both fighters and are in better position to speak about it,” Puentevella told the Inquirer yesterday.

He said he has already discussed the matter with Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, who authored a bill calling for the cancellation of the fight pitting the two biggest names in the sport at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“In the first place we have no jurisdiction over it as the fight is sanctioned by the Nevada Athletic Sports Commission,” added Puentevella. “With all due respect to Rep. Rodriguez, let’s just deal with more important issues.”

Puentevella, also a vice president of the Philippine Olympic Committee and a close friend of Pacquiao, said he will just “invite” Rodriguez to watch the fight at ringside.

Puentevella said, the proposed bill “will only disrupt the training of our national hero, Manny Pacquiao, who already said he will train very hard for his biggest fight.”

He said boxing experts who put up the fight should know better if indeed Pacquiao’s life would be in danger.