PACQUIAO HAS GREAT WORKOUT
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 05 Mar 2008
Celebrated trainer Freddie Roach says Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao had a great workout yesterday (Monday in the US) and went 20 rounds non-stop on the punch mitts.
In an overseas telephone conversation with Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today, Roach said Pacquiao was ?doing very well. We went 20 rounds on the mitts straight through. Physically and mentally he?s great.?
Roach squelched some concerns over Pacquiao?s weight saying ?he weighed 133 pounds today and that?s not a problem.? Last week when we spoke to Roach he said with three weeks to go before the fight Pacquiao was 136 pounds and "losing six pounds in three weeks is no problem." Now, with ten days to go, shedding three pounds shouldn't be hard to do.
The trainer who is credited with turning a raw uncut diamond in Pacquiao into a glittering gem of a fighter said they will ?slowly start tapering off beginning tomorrow (Tuesday in Los Angeles) and will spar eight rounds today, six rounds on Thursday, four rounds on Saturday and four rounds on Monday.?
Asked about how Pacquiao looked against a roster of sparring partners Roach responded, ?beautiful.?
Pacquiao?s opponent in his March 15 rematch at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel and Casino, WBC super featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez was scheduled to host a media conference call at 3:00 a.m. today (Wednesday) Manila Time to discuss his training which began even before Christmas as well as his thoughts on the rematch with Pacquiao which has been aptly titled ?Unfinished Business.?
The unprecedented crowd that showed up at the Titanium Training Center in San Francisco for Pacquiao?s open public workout saw the devastating puncher work on his right hand while doing the punch-mitts with Roach. The right is expected to be a key factor in Pacquiao's effort to overwhelm Marquez which he did with his awesome left in their first clash in May 2004 when he dropped the Mexican three times in the first round but Marquez came back to counter-punch his way and salvaged a draw.
The managing editor of 15rounds.com Marc Abrams has told Ring Magazine in a survey of boxing experts that Pacquiao ?seems to be really focused this time. There?s no chaos around this training camp.? Abrams predicted that Pacquiao would win ?a close but unanimous decision.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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