Manny Pacquiao reflects on first professional, Las Vegas fights

Manny Pacquiao will be in his 19th Las Vegas fight when he meets WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Pacquiao, without hesitation, can tell you the exact date of his first Las Vegas fight.

On June 23, 2001, Pacquiao made his U.S. debut at the MGM Grand in a knockout victory over Lehlo Ledwaba to win the IBF junior featherweight title on the Oscar De La Hoya-Javier Castillejo undercard. It was his second of eight division championships.

Pacquiao, 37, also clearly remembers his first professional fight in the Philippines. It was Jan. 22, 1995, when Pacquiao won a unanimous decision over Edmund Enting Ignacio.

The Filipino boxer told a group of reporters Tuesday that he made 1,000 pesos for the bout, which comes out to $20.

Pacquiao had to travel two hours by boat and three hours by car to get from Manila, where he trained, to Occidental Mindoro.

“It was hard to get there,” Pacquiao said. “It took three hours by land because the roads aren’t good. There’s no cement. I was left with 400 pesos after transportation.”

Pacquiao was 98 pounds the day of the weigh-in and had to put heavy objects in his pockets to make the 105-pound limit.

Oh, and the gym only had half a roof.

“The gym wasn’t finished,” Pacquiao said. “The crowd was big for me back then.”

Pacquiao has come a long way.

VALDEZ’S NEW FAME

Oscar Valdez’s life changed after becoming a first-time world champion at MGM Grand in July.

Valdez, who knocked out Matias Rueda to win the vacant WBO featherweight belt, said more people have tried to get into his inner circle after he won the title.

“The people see me a little different and want to be around me more,” Valdez said. “So I need to stay concentrated and not focus on the outside world and stay inside the gym.”

The Mexican fighter will make his first title defense against Japan’s Hiroshige Osawa on Saturday’s undercard.

OLYMPIAN’S PRO DEBUT

Teofimo Lopez had a nightmare experience on his road to the Rio Olympics, but he’s ready to put that behind in his professional debut on the Pacquiao-Vargas undercard.

Lopez earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team by winning the U.S. Olympic trials, but because of some unusual circumstances, Lopez was taken off the team.

Lopez, a 19-year-old from New York, found a way to get to Rio as a representative of Honduras, where his parents are from.

“I’m thankful that I was able to represent Honduras, but the Olympics are now in the past,” Lopez said. “I’m the only American from the Olympics who is signed, and I get to fight on the Manny Pacquiao card. I’m ready for my next chapter.”

Lopez will face Ishwar Siqueiros in a four-round lightweight bout.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.