'ONE MORE ROUND' EXPECTED TO GIVE HELL TO BARRERA
By Salven L. Lagumbay
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 25 Aug 2007
CEBU CITY--As if he weren't working hard enough in the gym, there's a phrase that has seemed to have stuck everytime Manny Pacquiao works out here that is expected to ultimately give Marco Antonio Barrera little breathing space when they meet again on October 6.
"One more round!" Pacquiao would repeatedly exhort trainers Freddie Roach and Buboy Fernandez, asking that he be allowed a round or two or three more in whatever he is doing at the Rex 'Wakee' Salud Gym here.
"Yan naman talaga ang mahirap sa kanya eh. Ang hirap pigilan yan kung mag train na," confided Fernandez to this writer yesterday, after Pacquiao insisted that he be allowed to do more after logging in six rounds of sparring against his two Mexican sparmates.
Pacquiao again asked for one more round when he cooled down by shadow-boxing in front of Roach after doing several minutes at the speedball and skipping rope.
Asked if he's worried about Pacquiao's tendency to overtrain, Roach just shrugged it off and said everything is fine.
"I always allow him to do that. I make sure it's within what's reasonable," Roach would explain.
During yesterday's sparring, Pacquiao almost knocked down Raymundo Beltran in the opening round with a left hook to the face, and momentarily stopped the Mexican with a shot to the body in the second round. Pacquiao toyed with him in the third, after which David Rodela took over.
Rodela proved to be a more difficult target, apparently having adjusted already with the time change being the first one to arrive in the Philippines. Pacquiao allowed Rodela to hit his midsection for most of the three-round session, but toyed with the Mexican in the third and final round.
"Eveytime Pacquiao hits me, I feel like I'm hit by an earthquake," Rodela would say. "Good thing the Filipinas think I'm handsome, in fact, I have a date to catch later. Me and Beltran have two dates later, they work in the restaurant of Waterfront Hotel. That's our consolation," said Rodela.
Top photo: Pacquiao (L) gives David Rodela a hook in the body.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Salven L. Lagumbay.
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