INSIDE SPORTS: COVERING PACQUIAO'S TRAINING
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 26 Oct 2013
Covering the training of "Fighter of the Decade" Manny Pacquiao over the past few days in his hometown of General Santos City was quite a revealing experience.
It's been some time since we've been able to watch Manny prepare for his fights at Freddie Roach's Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles so the chance to see him train up close and personal was most welcome.
It gave us an opportunity to see for ourselves how committed he is to redeeming his status as an elite fighter following two setbacks - one at the hands of Las Vegas judges in the universally condemned split decision loss to Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley and the other at the hands of a surprisingly strong and seemingly bulked-up Juan Manuel Marquez who connected with a perfectly timed counter right hand at a time when he was being battered and on the verge of getting knocked out by Pacquiao.
The gratifying aspect of the knockout loss has been Pacquiao's own response in which he accepted the loss - just as he did the one to Bradley - as part of the sport and nothing to be bitter or fret about.
Celebrated trainer Freddie Roach told us in GenSan that when he suffered his first knockout he was shattered and was never the same and marvels at how well Pacquiao has taken it. I guess that is the measure of a true boxing hero and a rare human being.
There have been some individuals who have used the social media such as Facebook and Twitter to question the positive reporting on Pacquiao's training and the lack of reference to any flaws in Manny's preparation.
We don't claim to be experts but as far as we have seen, Pacquiao has shown the fire of old, is training relentlessly and most of all has demonstrated in sparring as well as on the punch-mitts and his other regular routines that his hand-speed is still remarkable and his punching power hasn't diminished. More importantly the commitment to give the fans an exciting fight - as he has always sought to do - remains.
Top photo: The author (R) talks to Pacquiao and Roach during Pacquiao's training at the Pacman's Wildcard Gym in General Santos. Partly hidden from the camera is ABS-CBN's Dyan Castillejo.
Pacquiao hits the double-end bag surrounded by the Chinese media.
Photos by Dong Secuya.
Although we must concede that his sparring partners - except for British light middleweight Liam Vaughan - haven't approximated the fighting style of Brandon "Bam Bam" Rios who Pacquiao himself has recognized as a formidable opponent - undefeated Ghana welterweight Fredrick Lawson served a purpose in case trainer Robert Garcia instilled some new tactical facets in Rios' fighting style.
Lawson moved a lot and showed quick footwork so Manny had to concentrate on cutting off the ring. He also had a good jab and Pacquiao learned to stay away from it and to counter. Overall, Lawson also helped in improving Pacquiao's hand-speed and footwork.
Filipino welterweight Dan Nazareno who is managed by Rommel Nazario, son of Pacquiao's late business manager and father-figure Rod Nazario, approximated the rugged, come-forward style of Rios and although not in the same class, was willing to trade some big shots with Manny which pleased Roach who said he was a game kid who could punch.
In fact, as a reward for the fine work they did in training, Vaughan and Nazareno are likely to face each other on the "Clash in Cotai" undercard.
Whatever refinements are needed in the strength and conditioning aspect of Pacquiao's training will be provided by the respected Gavin McMillan who was brought in by Roach to help out.
Clearly there are a few individuals who would like to put Pacquiao down by claiming he is aging as a fighter, gets hit too much and the unkindest cut of all from his former strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza - that Manny had not undergone random drug testing while Rios had already been tested twice.
The internationally respected Dr. Margaret Goodman who heads the Voluntary Anti Doping Agency or VADA, blasted Ariza for the falsehoods he tried to peddle.
Rios' trainer Robert Garcia, when he allowed Brandon to get Ariza, made it very clear that Alex would only handle the strength and conditioning aspect and not get in the gym or into any of the nasty give-and-take that sometimes surfaces between the camps of fighters. By shooting his mouth off and seeking publicity for his false allegations, Ariza has violated the terms under which he was hired. What Garcia will do is not for us to second guess.
However, we recall an earlier interview when the very decent trainer said he couldn't find one person who had anything good to say about Ariza. And that effectively but regrettably, says it all.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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