By DYAN CASTILLEJO-GARCIA
with JACKIE CASTILLEJO

This is Sports Unlimited's pre-fight special of the "Grand Finale: Pacquiao vs Morales III." You're about to find out what actually went on a week before the fight.

On November 12, we left with Pacquiao from the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles by car. Manny trained in that gym for seven weeks for his fight with Morales last November 18 (November 19 in Manila) at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.

We arrived at the Wynn Hotel where Manny would be staying while in Las Vegas.

It was after lunch when Pacquiao and his entourage decided to leave for Las Vegas from Los Angeles. Manny has always preferred driving over flying. Everyone joining a convoy with the Filipino boxer arranged to meet at the parking lot of the Wild Card Gym.

No public announcements were made about Pacquiao’s departure that day. But still, numerous fans were at the parking lot waiting with boxing gloves to be signed by the Pinoy boxing hero. All of them were excited to have their picture taken with Manny.

The drive to Vegas might have been a long one but it was worth seeing the beautiful places we passed by.

The sun goes down early during this time of year in Vegas. We were apparent that we have reached the place when we started seeing the lights of the city.

Pacquiao made a very quiet entrance into the Wynn Hotel. While his staff pre-checked the room he was going to stay in, Pacquiao waited in the lounge area. Well of course, the boxing champ sang out all the wait.

In the morning, Manny started his day with an early medium-paced run at the track of the University of Las Vegas.

He was with a group but later picked up his own pace and left everyone else behind. My partner and I decided to join him for a round.

Just how fast Manny could get? Manny’s definition of medium pace was way, way, way, different from what we had in mind.

After the run, Manny did numerous kinds of sit-ups.

The minute Manny stepped into the ring for his first workout session in Vegas, we could sense that he meant business. You could see it in his eyes.

Manny’s coach, Freddie Roach, said that he has trained many world champion boxers in the past but few were as relentless and as determined as Manny.

It’s no secret that Manny is a go-for-broke-brawler type of boxer. Freddie Roach has been working very hard on Pacquiao’s footwork to allow him to create punching angles.

Ever since Manny “The Pacman” Pacquiao made it to the international scene, everybody took note of his sizzling left blows. For this fight, Manny worked hard on his right-hand punches.

The other thing that “The Pacman” and his coach worked on was defense. Pacquiao was ferocious. No question he had power and endurance. But Roach was keen in reminding him to think first before he strikes.

All the hard work Manny put into his training definitely paid off. Many boxing experts say that you could put Manny in the ring with anyone between 126 to 135 pounds and still be assured of a good fight.

When Manny fights, it doesn’t matter who his opponent is. People would always come to watch his fights.

The Grand Finale was top five in boxing fights with paid attendance in the whole state of Nevada.

The Thomas and Mack Center's over 18,000 seats were full. Pacquiao has always been a favorite of the international press. Even members of the Mexican media couldn't help but like him.

Pacquiao has literally raised the popularity of fights in the lighter weight class. As far as media is concerned, fights in the lighter weight class are now considered big fights.

When Morales was called to speak, he basically told the press that he was in so much better shape than when he fought Manny in January. He blamed his lack of conditioning for that loss. Now that he was in great shape, he told the press how confident he was of winning the fight.

When Pacquiao addressed the press, he told them that he was happy that Morales trained hard and was in great shape because he was in great shape too and that translated to a more enjoyable fight for their fans.

Weight has always been the very controversial issue between two fighters. Before this Grand Finale fight, Morales had to go down again to 130 just to avenge his loss.

If he didn't make it to the weight, he would be fined $500,000 per pound exceeding 130.

There is no doubt that Erik “El Terrible” Morales and Manny “The Pacman” Pacquiao are two of the world’s best boxers today. No one disputes that. They are two of the bests.

But the contention now lies on who is better. The answer to that question is really what‘s on the line in this fight.

For Pacquiao, not only the WBC International Super Featherweight is at stake here but also the heart and soul of every Filipino.

So Manny, show the world what you are made of. Show them your power!