The Dream Match between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar Dela Hoya takes place on December 6 (December 7 in the Philippines) in Las Vegas, Nevada. While analysts in the boxing world pay attention to the differing strengths of each fighter, its highly possible that Manny Pacquiao's greatest strength may come from a place deeper than that where he draws his powerful right hook.

In between his morning workouts this past week, Manny has engaged us in several intellectual discussions about the importance of faith in God and how a relationship with Him can be a source of great power for any fighter. Last Monday he told us that alongside his physical and mental preparation for this big fight, he is also preparing himself spiritually.

This morning, he stopped midway through his abs circuit to share a parable from one of his Bible readings and then asked his "boys" to dissect it. He then went on to explain the importance of going deeper into scripture and how knowing Christ is the reason we are in this world in the first place. He paused and smiled after his short talk was over, realizing that he was sounding like a preacher. But it was a smile of satisfaction.

I've known Manny long enough to know that he is no way close to being a saint, but it is this new side of him that has really won my admiration. His testimonies were coupled with a firm belief in his faith and a sincere desire to pass along this knowledge to others.

Manny has become such a big star not only locally but also in the international scene, so much so that quite frequently, Hollywood celebrities come as fans, mingled with the rest of us at the local gym. Despite this, Manny remains very genuinely the same person, very nice and down to earth. Perhaps its his faith that has kept him grounded.

This week as we chronicle the journey of Manny Pacquiao towards what could possibly be the most memorable match of his career, we will not fail to discuss the intricacies of his training regimen, as well as the novel details that only a first-hand behind-the-scenes point of view can bring...but before we begin, its nice to know what's powering that core that our beloved fighter is built on.