PACMAN MAD NOT ABLE TO RUN WITH HIS BOSS
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 26 Mar 2015
LOS ANGELES, Cal. ? He should have been pacing Manny Pacquiao when the World Boxing Organization welterweight kingpin did his road work Monday and Wednesday at the University of Caliornia-Los Angeles track and field oval.
Pacman, probably the most popular canine in the world nowadays and, undoubtedly, the most-traveled of his kind, however, was confined at the sideline while his boss rounded the 400-meter rubber-coated track on those days.
Dogs, or, or that matter, any other animals, are not allowed to run inside the oval preserved only to the school?s student-athletes and paying private individuals using the facility or physical conditioning.
Pacquiao?s chief trainer Freddie Roach and conditioning guru Justin Fortune both know the prohibition, but their prized pupil, who is also known as ?Pacman? needs the school?s athletic facilities and privacy so he can concentrate in the remaining crucial month of preparation, reducing the dog to mere spectator during Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
His usefulness and the practice he and the eight-division champion have been doing the Past nine years though resumes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the days roadwork is held at the cemented Pan Pacific Park.
?Pacman was mad at nagpipilit kumawala sa pagkakatali habang pinapanood ang amo na na tumatakbo,? training assistant Aejae ?Mandirigma? Angeles, assigned to the dog on those days, related. ?He couldn?t do anything naman kaya ang ginawa tumahol na lang nang tumahol habang tumtakbo si Boss.?
"Just imagine nga naman, lagi kang kasama ni Boss kahit saan siya magpunta for the past nine years para mag-pacing sa roadwork, ngayon etsapuera siya,? Angeles said with ax smkile in his face.
One consolation though was instead of Pacquiao being sought by athletes and kibitzers alike, it was Pacman, the dog, who was seen posing for pictures to the delight of after the workout.
?Very good,? commented Fortune in reference to Pacquiao?s workout and not on Pacman?s posing or photographs. ?At least Manny is now focused on training and on signing autographs and other memorabilia from the crowd that had been serving as distraction the past several weeks.
This is because, not only dogs and other animals are subject to prohibition but also individuals who have got nothing to do with running as a form of physical conditioning.
Pacman, the dog, has been the favorite pet of the Sarangani fighting Congressman, who always makes it a point to tag the Jack Russell terrier along wherever he goes to fight since acquiring the pint-sized animal nine years ago. Pacman, who is based in Los Angeles, even has a special permit from the US department of foreign affairs to join Pacman wherever the ?Fighter o the Decade? honoree wishes to go.
?Pacman is an American citizen,? Noel Lautengco, an uncle-in-law of the pound-for-pound king?s wife Jinkee assigned to take care of the canine, attested in an interview a few years back during Team Pacquiao?s three-week stint in Baguio City in the first leg of his preparation for his third fight with Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez.
?He?s gone to many places, kasi laging isinasama ni Manny tuwing bi-biyahe either para lumaban, mag-training o mamasyal,? Lautengco, who is married to Jinkee?s aunt Marlyn Jamora, said. ?Kaya nga masasabi kong siya na sigurado and the most-traveled dog sa buong mundo.?
?Well, maybe because movies starring dogs are now seldom made, maybe Pacman could be the most popular dog in the wiorld today,? Lautengco said. ?But, undoubtedly, hindi nila mapapantayan ang dami ng biyahe ni Pacman. Just think of how many times Manny fought since 2006. Ang dami na. Eh yun pang biyahe kapag nag-ensayo?? Lauteng said.
"Si Pacman kasi ang taga-gising ni Manny kapag tumatakbo sa umaga in the course of his training. Kaming mga nasa Team Pacquiao, alam na namin kapag gising na si Manny kasi nauuna nang bumaba sa Pacman,? Lauterngo related.
?Kapag nagising kasi ?yan sa umaga, pupunta agad kung saan natutulog si Manny at kakatukin nya hanggang magising. Napakasipag naman sa takbuhan. Noon lagi siyang nauuna kay Manny sa takbuhan,? he recalled. ?But nowadays, matanda na eh, siyam na taon na. Ibig sabihin kung sa tao, 63 na kaya nahuhuli na sa karera.?
?Noon Pacman was the only one who could keep pace with Manny on the road, kaya team up lagi silang dalawa. At si Manny lang nag nakakasabay sa kanya. Mabilis kasing tumakbo at tuwang-tuwa siya kapag nagkakarera silang dalawa ni Manny,? Lautengco, who claims to be Pacquiao?s confidante even before the boxer wooed Jinkee, said.
The past few days in Pacquiao?s first week in L.A., Pacman, again, shared the limelight with his popular boss as he, as in the past, kept the champ company in his roadwork at the mountainous Griffith Park in downtown L.A.
Pacman is actually a half-breed Jack Russel terrier given to him by boyhood friend and now assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez. ?The dog was given to Buboy by a friend. Hiningi ni Manny kasi nagandahan. Maliit at malikot. Si Buboy na ang nagbinyag ng Pacman.?
?Napamahal na kay Manny si Pacman. Before Pacman slept besides Manny sa gabi. Pero na-allergy si Manny sa balahibo kaya sa akin na pinatatabi sa pagtulog. Ako ngayon ang binubuwisit, kasi ayaw nang walang katabi. Nilalagaya ko sa lapag ng kama bago matulog, magigising na lang ako nasa paanan ko at kasukob ko sa kumot,? Lautengco related chuckling.
Photo: Pacman the dog runs with his boos Manny 'Pacman' Pacquiao.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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