Former Pacquiao opponent Hector Velazquez turns his attention to Michael Farenas

Hector Velazquez made his way to the Philippines basically unnoticed. His flight was supposed to land at 4am but he arrived four hours later, extending his already long trip.

Velazquez, a proud son of Tuijuana, Baja California, Mexico, is a veteran of 79 fights. He won 56 of those fights, lost 20, and drew 3. In his wins, he was able to stop his opponents 38 times for a respectable 47.5% knockout percentage.

At 39-years-old, Velazquez should be toning it down considerably. He should be fighting mostly in Mexico, enjoying the last few bouts of his career before he hangs his gloves up for good. Instead, he finds himself halfway around the world for a fight against Filipino Michael Farenas (37-4-4, 29 knockouts).

This won't be Velazquez' first time to battle a Filipino warrior as he has faced Manny Pacquiao and Bobby Pacquiao before.

"Manny was just too fast," Velazquez said through a translator. "I was expecting him to have power because he knocked out Marco Antonio Barrera and knocked down Juan Manuel Marquez thrice but I did not expect him to be that fast."

He won the first round against Pacquiao who was then coming off a loss to Erik Morales, but as fight wore on, the Filipino’s speed and power slowly caught up to the Mexican, who was stopped at the tail-end of the sixth round after receiving one of Pacquiao's popular flurries.

"Bobby was also strong but he was nowhere as fast as Manny," Velazquez said about his match against the other Pacquiao fighter. "It was a tough fight but he kept hitting me low."

Velazquez also shared his thoughts about the eight-division world champion who is in deep preparation for his rematch against Timothy Bradley.

"Manny still has speed and still has power but his unpredictability is gone," he shared. "He's a better boxer now but the unpredictability he had before was what made him a dangerous fighter."

Last year, Velazquez fought five times even if he was already 38. This year, the fight against Farenas is going to be his second fight. When asked why he continues to fight, Velazquez simply said it was because he loves the sport. "I love boxing. When I'm not training, I can feel my body longing for the gym," Velazquez said. "Now I was able to go to the Philippines because of boxing. I'll enjoy my fight here and enjoy my moment on top of the ring."

Velazquez has never won a world title. In fact, he lost most of the big fights that came his way. But there's no denying the fact that is a good boxer who will give Farenas all he could handle on March 21 at the FilOil Flying V Arena. - AMD, GMA News