Pacquiao the least alarmed
By Recah Trinidad
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 27 May 2017
TRAINER Freddie Roach reportedly cried he would rather have the Manny Pacquiao fight on July 2 postponed if it were to be held the following day. This was last Tuesday, after Pacquiao sparred five tentative rounds against two inferior partners at the Elorde gym in Pasay City.
Roach supposedly howled that Pacquiao was far behind in training.
Naturally, there was alarm all over, with the news spreading wide in Australia, where Pacquiao defends his WBO welterweight crown against hometown hero Jeff Horn (16-0-1) on July 2.
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Pardon this, but Pacquiao himself had seemed the least bothered by the allegations.
This reporter requested veteran scribe Eddie Alinea to inquire with Team Pacquiao if there was something seriously wrong with Pacquiao or his training regimen.
Alinea said he was able to talk to Roach, who said ?Manny was somewhat stiff in sparring because he had started with the grueling plyometrics regimen.?
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One report on the Pacquiao sparring on Tuesday was illustrated by a photo of Pacquiao, in red shirt, pausing to grimace and complain about something visibly bothersome in his shoulder area.
It was also reported that Pacquiao had been hit silly by punches from his unranked local sparmates.
To repeat, these reports must?ve sounded like music to the ears of Horn and his handlers, including the fight promoters in Australia, where the unbeaten former school teacher was an awful 9-1 underdog the last time odds were taken.
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Anyway, there was a report by the able boxing expert Nick Giongo that Roach plans to bring in a ?Horn clone? to beef up the shallow roster of Pacquiao sparmates.
?I would like to bring in George Kombosos because he reminds me of Horn,? Giongco quoted Roach as saying.
Kombosos, 12-0, is rated ninth by the WBA and is a regular at Roach?s Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.
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On Wednesday, a day after reports about Pacquiao?s sluggish stand in training came out, Roach worked the mitts with Pacquiao at the Elorde Gym near the Mall of Asia.
The Inquirer?s Roy Luarca reported that Roach left the ring satisfied as Pacquiao proceeded exuberantly to do a total 24 rounds, including hitting the heavy bag, the speed ball, and skipping ropes.
Roach, glad, had suggested they might have to train in Australia a total of two weeks, instead of only one.
Roach was however mystified at where the media got the idea that Pacquiao was behind in training??Where the hell did they get that??
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Recah Trinidad.
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