PACQUIAO READY TO FIGHT
By Eddie Alinea of Spin.ph
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 24 Jun 2017
World Boxing Organization welterweight belt owner Manny Pacquiao today proclaimed himself ready to fight anytime and keep the 147-pound crown in Philippine shore.
This Pacquiao asserted this morning before enplaning the Air Asia chartered flight that will bring him and his party of 200 plus people to the Queensland capital of Brisbane where he is putting his title on the block against Australian challenger, local boy Jeff Horn, a week from now, Pacquiao said he has completely regained his fighting form following a seven-month preparation that started in Manila and ended in hometown General Santos City.
?Yeah, I?m ready to fight, kahit mamayang gabi pagdating namin sa Brisbane handa na akong umakyat sa ring at makipag-bugbugan muli,? he told this writer in what came a strongest statement he issued since becoming a prizefighter 22 years ago.
?No, not that I am scaring the enemy, what I?m trying to say is that I prepared for this fight the longest since the Mayweather fight to dismiss speculation that we are taking my opponent lightly. I respect Horn as a fighter and undefeated one at that,? he said.
?Besides, siyempre, gaya nang dati, gusto kong mabigyan ang fans ng laban na magugustuhan nila. As have been saying each time I climb the ring, yan ang essence ng professional sport, to entertain,? Pacquiao narrated.
?Ang gusto ko ring siguruhin sa fans lalo na sa ating mga kababayan na lalaban muli tayo at dala an gating bandila. Like in my previous fights, para sa kanila ang labang ito,? he vowed.
Filipino boxing legend and Philippine senatore Manny Pacquiao is being honored by military guards during his departure from his hometown in General Santos City to Brisbane, Australia Saturday. Photo by Wendell Alinea.
"Gutom pa rin tayo di tulad ng sinasabi noong iba na wala na ang hunger natin. Boxing is my life and this is where Manny Pacqiao came kaya din natin puwedeng pabayaan yan," he said.
?I would like to thank nga pala members of my trainig team for the way they ran the training program,? Pacquiao said in reference to chief trainer Freddie Roach, conditioning coach Justin Fortune and Filipino assistants Buboy Fernandez, Nonoy Neri and Roger ?Haplas? Fernandez.
The Fighter of the Decade honoree of the Boxing Writers Association of America closed the GenSan training camp with an early morning run at the hilly 1.9-kilometer 45-degree high Tinoto Plateau in Sarangani, to offset the seven-hour plane ride to Brisbane.
Roach, for his part, reiterated that his pupil of 16 years already had reached fighting form as early as the start of the past week and what happened the past seven days was were merely icing on the cake as far as he training regimen he himself charted.
?Nothing really happened that?s earth-shaking the past week. Or I should say the past two weeks because Manny had already been nearing his peak by then. We just sweat it out to maintain what we?ve gained from the camp,? the Hall of Fame trainer said.
Pacquiao?s Australian Justin Fortune, Pacquiao?s strength and conditioning mentor concurred in, saying ?Manny?s in a superb physical and mental state by now and nothing can stop him from winning again.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea of Spin.ph.
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