Pacquiao leaves for Los Angeles ahead of Spence fight
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 03 Jul 2021
“Tuloy ang laban (Fight is on)!”
Thus, declared Filipino boxing great Manny Pacquiao yesterday, the day his and his training team flew to Los Angeles where he is scheduled to continue his nine months and three days build up for his coming welterweight unification fight with American Errol Spence Jr. that started June 9 at his hometown General Santos City.
Pacquiao, boxing’s only eight division world champion, now 42 and going 43 on December 17 this year, and Spence, a decade younger and owner of the IBF and WBC diadems of the 147-pound class, clash on August 21 in a classic 12-round skirmish at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, USA.
Earlier last week, the former congressman and now sitting senator was slapped with a lawsuit seeking to stop the bout and recover the $3,300,000 given to Pacquiao by Paradigm Sports.
“I have been already training for the fight for the past one month or so imposible nang sa akin magmula na huwag matuloy ang laban,” Pacquiao told this writer hours before he and his training team – made up of chief handler Buboy Fernandez, Noy Neri, Roger “Haplas” Fernandez and Jonathan Peñalosa – boarded the Philippine Airlines flight to where training consultant Freddie Roach and his group are waiting.“
“I am ready to shift into the more extensive parts of the training program myself, Buboy and the team have prepared to be consolidated with what have been drawn out by Freddie and his team,” Pacuiao, who is set to be given back the WBA piece of the welterweight category stripped of him a few months ago, assured.
“Yeah, ready na si Boss sa mas mabibigat na bahagi ng programa,” Haplas, younger brother of Buboy, agreed in a separate interview a day earlier. “In fact Saturday last week, after barely a month of light training, the Boss, had already gone sparring. “
“Para ngang hindi na-bakante ng dalawang taon. Malakas pa rin at, siyempre, mas mabilis si Boss ngayon,” Haplas attested. “Yun ang nagawa ng cross training niya sa paglalaro ng basketball. Halos gabi-gabi, kahit na noong di pa nag-e-ensayo, basketball ang inaatupag. Kaya naman lagi siyang nasa-kondisyon.”
Pacquiao last fought in July 2019 when he dealt erstwhile unbeaten Keith “One Time” Thurman his first loss via split decision. Manny likewise inflicted Thurman the latter’s first knockdown in his career on the way to 113-114, 115–112, 115–112 verdict by the three judges.
Haplas and Neri agreed, too, that their boss needs to improve on his stamina.
“Stamina na lang ang kailangan ni Manny at doon kami dapat mag-concentrate, among other things, pagdating namin sa Wild Card Gym sa L.A.,” Neri ang Haplas chorused.
Both said Buboy has been studying tapes of Spence's fights since the Pacquiao-Spence meeting was announced and has already spotted several of the opponent’s weaknesses based on his last encounter with Danny Garcia December of last year, which Spence won.
“Malakas sumuntok, pero hindi kasing lakas ni Manny,” Haplas observed. “Sa bilis, well definitely, mas mabilis ang bata natin, di hamak na mas mabilis si Boss. At yan ang magiging malaking problema ni Spence.”
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