BUBOY: "MANNY IS 80% READY"
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 26 Sep 2016
It's still five weeks before eight-division world champion Manny Paccquiao's November 5 date with Mexican-American World Boxing Organization welterweight titlist Jessie Vagas, but if the Filipino boxing hero's assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez is to be believed, his boss is already a mere 20 percent shy of getting in tip-top shape to regain the belt he twice held.
"Manny's 80 percent ready," Fernandez assured this writer Saturday following Paquiao's five-round sparring with local lightweight contender Leopoldo Doronio that capped the Filipino's four-week opening leg of his preparedness program.
Fernandez based his assessment on the some 60 rounds of his childhood friend's doing the mitts with him since the training camp opened a month ago and the nine rounds the Pacman has so far completed.
"The sparring would have actually been commenced upon the arrival of Freddie (American chief trainer Freddie Roach), but we took it upon ourselves -- Manny and members of the training team (Nonoy Neri and Roger "Haplas" Fernandez) to hold least two sparring sessions this week precisely to gauge how far the first four weeks of preparations had gone," Fernandez said by way of explaining how he arrived at his assessment.
"At yun nga, after weighing in what transpired during the one month period in the camp, I came up with the conclusion that Manny is coming fast ready to fight," Fernandez asserted. "Of course each of us has different assessment. Si Noy iba si Haplas iba. Manny himsef, I'm sure has different assessment of how far he has gone in his preparations."
"But for all of us, alam namin na konti na lang ang kailangan ni Manny para mag-peak in the coming five weeks under the supervision already of Freddie," he said.
"And that's really the reason why we started training a week earlier than usual. Para pagdating ni Freddie hindi na masyadong mahirapan si Manny, who as you have probably noticed, has been dividing his time between attending his duty as senator and training as a fighter," pointed out.
Pacquiao did not categorically said how ready he is so far except to say, "Kondisyon na. Malapit nang mag-peak. This past week, medyo nag-double time tayo kasi nadagdagan ang load ng ensayo when Justin (strength and conditioning coach Justin Fortune) arrived last Monday.
According to Fortune, as soon as he took over the conditioning chore, he increase the load of the morning roadwork aspect as to include sprinting to improve leg power and speed.
"I've been on the job for only a week, but this I can tell you, Manny has improved a lot since we last work together last April for the Timothy Bradley III fight," Fortune observed. "He's lot stronger now and faster."
Roach, a seven-time trainer of the year honoree of the Boxing Writers Association of America, is scheduled to fly in Tuesday morning in Manila along with unbeaten junior-welterweight Jose Ramirez, owner of an impressive 17-0 pro record highlighted by 12 KOs who was picked to help Pacquiao prepare for the Vargas title showdown.
The bout will be held at the Thomas & Mack Center inside the University of Las Vegas-Nevada in the U.S.'s city of win.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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