ARIZA IS A VICTIM OF INTRIGUES
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 28 Feb 2011
Certainly one of the most distressing aspects of professional boxing in relation to the Philippines are the intrigues which some individuals sow and others feast upon with gay abandon.
Pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao hasn?t even started his preparation for the showdown against Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 7 when already the cauldron of intrigues appears to be heating up.
The latest, which has actually been simmering for some time now, fueled by people who apparently have nothing better to do, is that strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza may be on his way out of Team Pacquiao.
Trainer Freddie Roach is claimed to have said that Pacquiao knows how to get into shape and doesn?t need Ariza, an acknowledged strength and conditioning guru who helped Roach turn Pacquiao into what he is today ? a devastating punching machine.
If you study the tapes of Pacquiao?s past fights you would notice that Manny?s speed, power and sheer explosiveness emerged beginning with the WBC lightweight title fight in which he hammered David Diaz into near senselessness in nine rounds.
Ariza had only worked with Roach and Manny for a couple of weeks before the fight.
With Manny and Alex getting to know and understand each other better, Pacquiao became an even more devastating fighter, pulverizing Oscar De La Hoya who quit at the end of eight rounds and separating Ricky ?The Hitman? Hatton from his senses in two brutal rounds.
In his next three fights as the intrigues against Ariza and his strength and conditioning program gathered momentum with Filipino trainers whose methods were pitifully inadequate questioning whether Pacquiao was being built up as a boxer or a bodybuilder, Pacquiao himself eased up on the grueling routines because of the demands on his time.
The result was that he failed to stop comparatively mediocre Joshua Clottey, only stopped Miguel Cotto in the last round and although he ripped into Antonio Margarito failed to stop him or even score a knockdown while he himself was badly hurt by a vicious body shot.
To us, this was a result of the lessening of Ariza?s influence and the decision to take the easy route as evident by some of the people around Manny who look anything but athletic.
For sure Pacquiao makes the decisions as to who stays and who goes, not Roach, not Michael Koncz. The fact that Koncz, despite a multitude of complaints against him is still around and closest to Manny underscores the reality that Pacquiao is the supreme boss.
We gather that Roach himself who met with Ariza last Sunday was disappointed at some of the things that were coming out in the various media and had actually discussed plans for the training camp leading to the Mosley fight with Ariza.
Its obvious that Alex Ariza has been a major asset to Pacquiao as well as Roach and the sooner the intrigues and gossip regarding his place in Team Pacquiao stop, the better for Pacquiao and his future as the pound-for-pound king.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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