Gomez picked as Pacman?s sparring mate
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 10 Oct 2012
MANILA (PNA) - Frankie Gomez, a young 20-year-old junior welterweight prospect, will be Manny Pacquiao?s sparring mate in the eight-division world champion?s leg of his Wild Card Gym training camp in Los Angeles.
Gomez, who owns an immaculate 12-win record in his young professional career, nine of them via stoppage, is Roach?s choice in what could be a two or three-man sparring rotation in Pacquiao?s camp starting Monday next week when the Filipino sensation moves to the U.S. from a two-week stint in General Santos City.
?Of course, there will be one or two more in the rotation, but for a start, we?ll start with Gomez to give Manny the feel of what it is to be atop the ring with an opponent after more than three months of hibernation (following his loss to Timothy Bradley last June 9),? Roach said in an overseas telephone interview yesterday.
A former outstanding amateur with a 120-8 win-loss record before turning pro, Gomez, a silver medalist in the World Amateur Championships, approximates the style of Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez, whom Pacquiao is dating for the fourth time on December 8 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
?Malakas, mabilis at counter-puncher din,? attested Roach?s Filipino assistant Marvin Somodio under whose tutelage Gomez is at the Wild Card sweat shop.
?Simply magaling,? Somodio said. ?Swak na swak kay Manny kaya tamang-tamang maging sparring partner.?
From the time he knocked out veteran Clayvonne Howard in his first pro-bout via a third round KO, Gomez rattled in eight more abbreviated victories in his next 11 outings including a third round annihilation of James Hope in his last outing December last year at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
?I?ve been watching Gomez?s career closely for years and he is one of the best amateur boxers I?ve seen in a long time,? legendary Oscar DeLa Hoya said of Gomez once. ?He?s a true blue chip prospect and he has all the tools to become world champion and a sat in this game.?
Pacquiao, the fighting Congressman from Sarangani, is scheduled to fly to Los Angeles on Saturday and will be setting put in U.S. soil the same day (U.S. time). A day?s rest on Sunday precedes what could the toughest grind he will be undergoing in years in his efforts to win convincingly this time following his doubtful 2-1 win-draw record against the Mexican legend in their trilogy.
Yesterday morning, Pacquiao capped his two-week preparations in GenSan by rounding the city?s sports complex oval for half-an-hour before plunging into action in the gym briefly in the afternoon.
?As I said, stamina-building lang ang ipinunta ko dito sa GenSan to prepare myself for a more serious camp at Wild Card,? Pacquiao said after his morning roadwork.
?Tingin ko okay naman, na-accomplish ang dapat naming ma-accomplish dito. Ready na ako para sa hirap na nakatakdang danasin ko sa L.A. under Freddie,? he said drawing concurrence from assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez.
?Marami pa ring kulang as far as rebuilding stamina is concerned,? Fernandez, who like his boss is seeking a congressional seat in next year?s mid-term elections via sectoral representation, assessed. ?But we hope to fill the gap sa Maynila bago kami lumipad for the U.S.?
(FILE PHOTO - PACQUIAO SPARRING AT THE WILD CARD GYM LAST MAY)
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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