INQUIRER Sports

LOS ANGELES—A custom-painted bus that can carry 30 people comfortably finally arrived at the Wild Card Gym Saturday afternoon here, but the person it was intended to shuttle to Las Vegas will not be riding in it.

Blame it all on superstition.

Trainer Freddie Roach said Filipino ring sensation Manny Pacquiao is expected to ride in his good ol' Lincoln Navigator when Team Pacquiao convoys to Las Vegas for the Dec. 6 "Dream Match" against Oscar De La Hoya at the MGM Grand.

"Why change anything?" said Roach. "You know Manny, he hates changing (his routines)."

"I talked to him and he told me he will be riding the Navigator," added the American trainer. "We will do what's normal as we did in the past. Manny's superstitious like that."

The 10-wheeler arrived swathed in images of Pacquiao with his name emblazoned in large silver letters on each side. An enlarged version of the fight's poster is also painted on the back of the bus. De La Hoya also has his own custom-painted bus, courtesy of Top Rank.

No estimate was given as to how much the bus cost, although Team Pacquiao insider Jake Joson said Top Rank chief Bob Arum spent $50,000 to custom-paint Pacquiao's bus.

If it's a waste of money, it isn't Pacquiao's fault entirely.

Arum should have known that Pacquiao is one of those who sticks to routine religiously. In 2006, when Pacquiao was preparing for his third bout with Mexican warrior Erik Morales, Arum offered to charter a private plane to fly the Filipino ring icon from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.

But Pacquiao refused then, saying he had already grown accustomed to the traditional road trip he makes every Monday before the fight.

Pacquiao has several routines that he never changes. After every workout, a trainer at the Wild Card gym shouts and asks for a minute of silence as the pound-for-pound champ bows in a corner to pray. The Filipino sensation also always eats at the same Thai restaurant situated near the famous boxing gym in Hollywood after every training session.

Each time he enters the ring, Pacquiao always kneels in one corner to pray just before the announcer makes the bout's introductions.