PACQUIAO?S TRAINING GOING SMOOTH
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 30 Apr 2012
BAGUIO CITY ? Going into the second day and eight rounds of sparring last Saturday, Manny Pacquiao?s chief trainer Freddie Roach had to order a change in sparring mate Ruslan Provodnikov?s headgear to protect him from the punishment the World Boxing Organization welterweight champion has been dealing him.
After only the opening round of the gruelling four-round schedule, Provodnikov?s face was in near distortion as he remained recipient of Pacquiao?s crispy left and right combinations.
There?s no plan though to replace Provodnikov as he, to Roach?s own admission to Malaya Business Insight, has proven to be the ideal mate for the Filipino idol.
Earlier in the day though, the Pacman wasn?t able to do his ritual roadwork for the third time since setting foot in this, the country?s summer capital.
Pacquiao, who ran the hilly Sta. Lucia Subdivision Thursday and Friday, turned to have been suffering from leg cramps and had to rest.
?Okay naman siya, medyo ginanahan, nasobrahan tuloy ang takbo,? boyhood friend and assistants trainer Buboy Fernandez explained. ?Kilala naman natin si Manny, kapag ginusto, di mapigilan. Wala namang problema. Kelangan lang mag-rest.?
?Bukas kasi yung headgear na dala noong Ruso nang dumating dito, so susceptible talaga na masaktan o madisgrasya", assistant trainer cum nutritionist, Nonoy Neri, said after the session.
?Pulang-pula na ang mukha ni Provodnikov after the first round pa lang at medyo tabingi na. Kailangan talagang pakitan ang head protector,? Marvin Somodio, who has taken the place of Alex Ariza as conditioning trainer, butted in.
Filipino prospect Rodel Mayol, a member of Pacquiao?s boxing stable lent his $250-worth headgear which the Russian will use in the remaining four days the eight-division kingpin?s high-altitude preparations here.
?Nothing serious really, but we have to change the headgear to ensure that no one will suffer serious injury in the remaining days of preparations,? Roach said adding that Provodnikov, who approximates Timothy Bradley?s fighting style, will be retained in the staff along with two others in the Los Angeles leg of preparations.
The undefeated Bradley, the reigning world junior welterweight titleholder, is challenging Pacquiao for his 147-pound belt on June 9 in Las Vegas.
?Injury to any member of the team is what we don?t need at this stage of our build-up program,? Roach said. ?Not to Manny, to Ruslan or anybody that, in one or the other, may disrupt the program.?
The final four days of the Baguio training camp starts today with the routine 10 to 12 rounds with the mitts, the heavy bag, double end ball, speed ball and skipping rope to continue building speed, stamina and coordination between the legs, hands and eyes.
?Everything?s going well so far. No hitches nor, as I have been saying, major distractions,? Roach assured. ?Manny?s still has to improve on his power, quickness.?
?All that we still lack will be filled in before we leave for L.A. this weekend to resume preparations at Wild Card,? the training guru vowed.
The Baguio camp officially closes on Thursday, the last day Pacquiao will be seen at the Shape Up Boxing Gym inside the Cooyeesan Hotel.
Immediately after Thursday?s training session, Pacquiao?s team returns back to Manila where preparations continue Friday and Saturday at the MP Gym located along Paquita Street in Sampaloc.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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