Roach downplays injury rumors
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 05 Oct 2010
BAGUIO CITY ? ?It?s under control. There?s nothing to worry about.?
This was how trainer Freddie Roach reacted to fears made by some sectors as to the extent of Manny Pacquiao?s leg injury suffered two weeks ago while jogging in a posh subdivision in Santa Rosa in Laguna.
?It might still be hurting, but I?m sure it?s not that serious as some people think,? Roach told this writer yesterday after the seven-division world boxing champion, again, cancelled his schedule roadwork.
It was at least the third time that that phase of his training in preparation for his November 13 World Boxing Council superwelterweight championship fight with Mexican Antonio Margarito had been put off since his team arrived here nine days ago.
Last Saturday, Pacquiao, likewise, cancelled his roadwork set at the city?s Burnham Park due to his aching left heel, but Roach attested his ward didn?t show any trace of the pain in the subsequent 14-round work with the mitts later that day when he also sparred with lanky Michael Medina for four rounds.
?Yesterday (Monday), I gave him 16 rounds with the mitts and we ended up as if nothing serious was going on,? the multi-awarded mentor assured, adding he will still give the reigning WBO welterweight titlist the benefit of the doubt by allowing him to play basketball, which many blame for the slow process of recuperation.
Since setting his foot here, Pacquiao and his team have been playing the game almost nightly after training.
The 1976 Montreal Olympics U.S. boxing team alternate bared that the problem started when the Pacman attended Congressional Session wearing a brand new leather shoes.
Pacquiao was elected congressman in the last election representing the lone district of his wife Jinkee?s home of Sarangani and has dividing his time attending sessions and training the past two weeks. ?
?I have been saying this time and again and I?m saying this again. We have a deal that he?ll stop playing basketball in the last month of our preparation and I expect him to respect that, as he had been doing the past several fights? he said.
?He really loves and is happy playing basketball as he loves boxing. If he?s happy, he gives me everything I ask him so that?s been our arrangement. He can play the game as long as he wants to, but when I say stop, he?ll have to stop, ?? he said.
Roach said Pacquiao has already consulted a doctor, who prescribed massaging and applying ice on the injured leg every morning. He said he had no doubt that the injury will be completely healed in that four-month span.
?He?s not used to that kind of footwear so his heels somewhat swelled. It aggravated when he jogged for a few miles inside the subdivision his family residence is located,? he recalled. ?
Yesterday, Pacquiao himself proved the skeptics wrong when he arrived on the dot at his 2 p.m. workout at the Shape Up Gym inside the Cooyessan Hotel along Naguillian Road which he and his team call home in his scheduled four-week stay in this, the county?s summer capital.
He was supposed to work at least seven rounds against Medina and Glen Tapia whom Roach personally picked as sparring mates for reason that both fight like Margarito does.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
Weigh-In Results: Robson Conceição vs. O'Shaquie Foster 2
Sat, 02 Nov 2024SCHOFIELD VS. TELLEZ GIRON OFFICIAL WEIGHTS
Sat, 02 Nov 2024Teflon Promotions Card for November 2nd in Collingswood, NJ is Postponed
Sat, 02 Nov 2024Stanford University’s Dante Kirkman Set to Return to the Ring at Fox Theater in Redwood City, CA
Sat, 02 Nov 2024EDDIE HEARN’S MATCHROOM PROVIDES MAJOR FINANCIAL BOOST TO 100 UK AMATEUR BOXING CLUBS IN NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH EMPIRE FIGHTING CHANCE
Sat, 02 Nov 2024The Scariest Division in Boxing
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, Fri, 01 Nov 2024"Worcester Championship Boxing" Official Weights
Fri, 01 Nov 2024SCHOFIELD VS. TELLEZ GIRON FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
Fri, 01 Nov 2024WEIGHTS FROM ORLANDO FLORIDA
Fri, 01 Nov 2024Team USA Sends Five Boxers to the World Boxing U19 Championship Finals and a Chance at Gold
Fri, 01 Nov 2024Press Conference Notes: Robson Conceição and O'Shaquie Foster Promise to Settle Rivalry in Saturday's World Title Rematch
Fri, 01 Nov 2024Undefeated bantamweight prospect Dominique “Dimes” Crowder Ready to cash in on The Boardwalk
Fri, 01 Nov 2024Kevin Arquero rules 3rd Fide Master Angelito Z. Camer Rapid Chess Tournament
By Marlon Bernardino, Thu, 31 Oct 2024Plania stops Julio in 3rd round
By Lito delos Reyes, Thu, 31 Oct 2024MARIO "EL AZTECA" BARRIOS MEDIA WORKOUT QUOTES
Thu, 31 Oct 2024