So far, Manny Pacquiao has had something of a tumultuous training camp ahead of his junior middleweight showdown with Antonio Margarito in November.
Initially the seven weight world champion impressed his trainers teammates with his work ethic and how good his conditioning was given his relatively long absence from the ring and summer political campaign.
Quickly though, concerns were raised after reports of missed road work, frequent basketball sessions after training and regular trips from Baguio to Manila that left Pacquiao too tired to train effectively the next day.
A minor foot injury and later a short bout of flu exacerbated these worries, as did widespread reports that Pacquiao was looking sloppy and lethargic during sparring.
Easy opponent on paper or not, Margarito holds a big size and reach advantage as well as the fact that he is as hungry as he has ever been after his recent suspension.
Many even began to question whether Pacquiao was taking Margarito lightly. After all the odds favor the Filipino as highly as a six to one favorite, and even trainer Freddie Roach has said that Margarito isn't an opponent he is particularly concerned about. Also after so many weight climbs over the years, a further few pounds probably doesn't worry Pacquiao at this stage as much as it would most fighters fighting at a new weight.
The concerns also weren't helped by the fact that reports from the Margarito camp all indicate that the former welterweight champion is already in excellent shape and is apparently implementing his game plan for Pacquiao effectively against his sparring partners.
More recently though, Freddie Roach has stepped in to curb Pacquiao's extra curricular activities, as he often has in the past, and the training sessions have since been going more smoothly.
Manny is reported to know that he is behind schedule and is eager to catch up, and with a month left until the fight, still has plenty of time to catch up so long as not too much else goes wrong.
Even with Roach keeping a close eye on Pacquiao at the moment though, there are still distractions for him in his current location. The constant glare of the media, keeping up to date with political goings on and numerous appearance requests will likely continue to affect him to some degree.
Fortunately the team is relocating their training base to the Wild Card in Los Angeles on October 23rd, and it is there that the majority of the catching up will probably be done.
Moving the camp to the United States won't help much with the media glare in and around the gym, but it will serve to give Freddie Roach greater control over what happens outside training. Not to mention meaning an end to the long distance trips to congress.
Alan Prestige, Pitt: "Margarito will win if Manny doesn't step it up and work hard, he should be more worried about this than the Cotto fight"
Bill Simons, Columbus: "Margarito stil might be shot, so no mater what kind of hsape he's in he could be an easy fight. No trouble for Pacquiao even is he isn't training well"
Source: Examiner.com
