For Manny Pacquiao, training doesn't end here
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 03 Jul 2018
GENERAL SANTOS CITY ? Last Monday was supposed to be the start of the tapering off period in Manny Pacquiao?s preparations for his coming World Boxing Association welterweight championship date with Argentine title-defending Lucas ?La Maquina? Matthysse.
It didn?t turn out to be.
A light leisurely jogging session at the Acharon Sports Complex oval had been scheduled that day, but the 39-year-old challenger opted instead to run the treacherous Maasim Hills along the highway dividing that town and this city anew to the surprise even of his handlers.
Later in the day, what was supposed another not so grueling eight-round punching the mitts with chief trainer Buboy Fernandez, the Filipino fighting senator requested to up the load to 10, which his boyhood friend and Australian strength and conditioning coach Justin Fortune couldn?t do but oblige.
Manny Pacquiao, accompanied by his team members, jogs in Sitio Seguil in Maasim, Sarangani Monday ahead of his world title fight against defending WBA welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse of Argentina on July 15 at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Count two rounds each at the heavy bag, double end ball and speed ball, shadow boxing and sit-ups and Pacquiao ended up completing a total 25 rounds of day?s work, which to him was just as normal as partaking his favourite tinolang manok and tapa for lunch.
Someone who counted the sit-ups he made, including those atop the mountains after roadwork, attested he? done a total 1,100 on all positions for the day.
And it looks like the same scenario will remain until the day Pacquiao and his team leaves for Kuala Lumpur, site of the fight, Monday next week.
?Well, that didn?t surprise me anymore. Not at all,? Fortune quipped when asked by local media men why the sudden increase in frequency. That?s Manny for you. That?s the reason he?s earned that phrase ?Manny knows? didn?t he??
?Kayo naman, parang di pa ninyo kilala si Manny,? Buboy, for his part, butted in. ?Si Manny, when he feels we?re still short of our target, he himself decides how to fill the vacuum. Hindi na niya hihintayin manggaling pa sa amin.?
?Siya mismo ang mag-decide kung kailangan magdagdag kapag may kulang o magbawas kung may sobra,? Buboy explained. ?And more often than not, tama siya.?
Buboy said while the training staff charted the entire build up program, changes occurred in the daily and weekly implementation depending on the progress of how Pacquiao responds.
?In this coming fight, as we promised, Manny reached his peak early, kaya maganda ang nagiging takbo, kasi it allowed us the luxury of time to make adjustments,? Buboy asserted. ?Hindi kami nagmamadali at hindi rin kami pa-relax-relax.?
?When we leave for Kuala Lumpur Monday next week, we expect everything to be in place,? he added. ?We can, in fact, do away with the roadwork by that time and even the sparring without losing what we would have attained.?
?Plenty of time really to focus more on strengthening our game plan, draw strategies and tactics, etc. Sa Madali?t sabi, aakyat si Manny sa ibabaw ng ring na dala dala ang lahat ng armas na kailagan para ipanalo ang laban,? Buboy assured.
The Pacquao-Matthysse 12-round showdown, titled ?Fight of Champions,? will be held two weeks from now on July 15 at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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