PACQUIAO DOING WELL IN SPARRING, GETS VISIT FROM JAWO
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 22 Mar 2015
LOS ANGELES, Cal. -- Manny Pacquiao's chief trainer Freddie Roach was all smiles in assessing the progress of his champion pupil has made going into the full month of training at the Wild Card Boxing Club here.
Roach, likewise, expressed satisfaction of the way the the sparring sessions, which started Tuesday last week and culminated Saturday, went "So far, everything is going well," the 55-year-old maestro said following a seven round skirmishes Pacquiao had with three sparring partners.
"I told them (sparring mates) from the start to give me something or I will fire them. And they gave me very good results," he told this writer on the day Pacquiao received a special guest in fellow sports legend Robert "Sonny"Jaworski. Gibson Keandri just arrived from Chicago and was readily put on the hot seat and delivered the goods the five-time 'Trainer of the Year' asked him -- one of the many defensive gems he expects Floyd Mayweather Jr. will be using when he faced off with the Filipino ring warrior on May 2 at the MGM Grand Arena.
Pacquiao and the undefeated World Boxing Council/World boxing Association titlist will decide who between them will be declared the best 147-pounder in that multi-million dollar confrontation expected to draw record results in both the gates and pay-per-view incomes.
Keandri displayed his wares against the eight-division titleholder for two rounds, the same length of time given Kenneth Sims, the only guy who tested Pacquiao in all three days of sparring.
Roach and his deputies Buboy Fernandez, Nonoy Neri, Roger "Haplas" Fernandez and Marvin Somodio handed unanimous verdict that the three sparring days had produced the desired outcome. Dierry Jean, a Canadian lightweight and the fifth of six guys Roach has lined up to give Pacquiao a glimpse of Mayweather's much-vaunted defensive maneuvering that gifted him an immaculate 47-0 win-loss records, with 26 knockouts, in his pro-career, had three rounds with Pacquiao.
Tough as it was in his third week in the camp, Roach said the remaining days of the build-up program will be tougher and harder, adding though that precautionary measures have already been in place in case o injury or early peaking are concerned. Even the "Fighter of the Decade" honoree of the Boxing Writers Association of America gave the five-man sparring mates a passing grade as far as giving him the needed tools on how to break Mayweather's defensive blanket.
"Everything goes well, walang problema," he said. "Ang mga sparring partners ko may kanya-kanyang talent representing Mayweather's, so they all have given me samples of what will be coming comes fight night."
"Ang isa lamang na mahigpit na binabantayan ay ang ma-injure while undergoing preparations," he said. "Freddie though and all his assistants are making sure nothing happens from now until the fight."
Jaworski, local basketball's living legend and known also as "The Big J" or just" "Jawo," visited Pacquiao, his kumpadre at the latter's mansion where Jinkee and their children who flew in Friday, also stay later in the day.
The former Barangay Ginebra playing-coach in the PBA stayed for at least two hours, as they talked on many things such as basketball, where Pacquiao is also the playing-coach of Team Kia, boxing, what else, and even their political plans.
Jaworski, who said he and wife Evelyn have been in L.A. for a week to visit several business interests, reminded his buddy of the significance ot the May 2 fight,not only on his future plans but the country and the Filipinos as well.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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