Pacquiao 85 percent in shape

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Just like that, Manny Pacquiao, after showing signs of weakness the other day, is back in shape.

The world’s greatest boxer showed up at the Shape Up Gym yesterday and sparred six rounds against Mexicans Glen Tapia and Michael Medina a day after skipping his roadwork and gym session due to colds.

“Wala naman (It’s nothing),” an insider quoted Pacquiao as saying.

True enough, whatever kept him inside his hotel suite the whole of Wednesday hardly showed in his sparring session that left his Pinoy trainer Buboy Fernandez saying he’s close to 85 percent ready.

Pacquiao did not go out for his morning roadwork yesterday but his handlers said he should be out at the Burnham Park today, a non-sparring day, and be with his team, including strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza.

Even Freddie Roach was so happy to see Pacquiao back in the gym.

“It’s normal. It happens to every boxer. Maybe it’s because of the changing weather,” said Fernandez, who doused fears that Pacquiao’s training camp has been stalled by his reported bout with sinusitis or colds.

Fernandez said Pacquiao even played basketball Wednesday evening at the Cooyeesan Plaza Hotel to shake off the virus.

“All he needed was to sweat it out and a glass of hot calamansi (lemon) juice. Now he’s okay,” added Fernandez.

Amir Khan, the reigning WBA super-welterweight champion, is now in Baguio to join the training camp as he also prepares for his Dec. 11 fight with Argentine Marcos Maidana at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

“I’ve always wanted to join Pacquiao’s camp and learn from it,” said the rising star from Britain.

He said he’s behind Pacquiao all the way as the Filipino icon gears up for his Nov. 13 showdown with rugged Mexican Antonio Margarito.

“I’m totally behind Manny Pacquiao. I think Manny is the best fighter in the world,” he told www.insidesports.ph, adding that he doesn’t see the fight lasting more than nine rounds.

“Whoever you put in front of Manny Pacquiao, I think Manny will beat easily. He’s got the skill, he’s got the speed, he’s got the footwork. This fight I think Manny will stop him maybe in round eight or nine,” he was quoted as saying.

Source: philstar.com

'Pacquiao-Margarito will be a long fight'

MANILA, Philippines – The trainer of Antonio Margarito is confident that his Mexican ward will go the distance against Manny Pacquiao when they face off for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) super welterweight title in November.

“Manny has proven he’s best in the world pound-for-pound,” Garcia told Yahoo! Sports reporter Kevin Iole.

“I know that. You have to give him credit for what he’s accomplished, because he’s done so much. But he’s going against a fighter who is so much bigger and who is going to be on him every single second for all 12 rounds,” he stated.

Pacquiao and Margarito will fight in the $1.2-billion Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on November 13 (November 14 in Manila).

“A guy who is that much bigger is going to be on him the entire night. Manny has fast, powerful combinations, but once Margarito takes those and keeps coming, it’s going to be a long night for Manny,” said Garcia.

The Filipino boxer-turned-congressman is currently training in Baguio City while the Mexican fighter is holding his training camp in Oxnard, California.

According to Garcia, Margarito’s preparation for the Pacquiao clash has been good.

“Camp is going great; Margarito is looking really good, really strong," Garcia told Ricardo Conde of FightNews.com.

"His conditioning is great, very impressive. It’s a real pleasure working with Margarito, we’re very happy to have him here with us and I’m confident we’ll win November 13th,” he added.

Pacquiao, on the other hand, skipped training on Wednesday after suffering from sinusitis. – With reports from Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports and Ricardo Conde, FightNews.com

Source: ABS-CBNNew.com

Pacquiao not in best shape, says trainer

MANILA, Philippines - Coach Freddie Roach said Manny Pacquiao is far from his best.

But if it was true, it didn’t show yesterday when the 31-year-old Filipino icon sparred five rounds with Mexican Glen Tapia at the Shape Up Gym in Baguio City.

“He almost went down,” said Team Pacquiao’s Nonoy Neri of the Mexican sparring partner who, according to Roach, may be just as good as Antonio Margarito.

Roach described Tapia as “cocky” and that he did “very, very good” when he sparred four rounds with Pacquiao last Thursday, the first day of sparring for the awaited Nov. 13 showdown.

The other sparring partner, Michael Medina, also did four rounds with Pacquiao last Saturday, and took some solid shots from the pound-for-pound champion that he looked ready to go as well.

A couple more sparring partners are coming in with reigning WBA super-welterweight champ Amir Khan probably on the way to Manila as of presstime, and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on standby.

Pacquiao has always done so well in sparring, even when Roach threw taller, bigger partners at him. He had a couple of boxers bloodied in his previous camps, and yesterday he was all over Tapia.

Still, Roach said Pacquiao is far from tip-top shape.

“The direction I want him to move is a little better. The stuff we were doing yesterday came through today. He’s not 100 percent; we still have a long way to go,” Ted Lerner of Ring Magazine quoted Roach as saying.

“We’re just beginning to get the game plan down and get the timing and so forth. He did what I wanted him to do a couple of times. It’s a work in progress,” added Lerner, embedded in the Pacquiao camp.

Roach said if Pacquiao fought today, chances are he’d lose, but that won’t really happen in November.

“If that Manny Pacquiao went into a fight, we’d probably lose. But that’s why we have an eight-week training camp, so we can improve. You can’t expect too much out of a guy who hasn’t been in the ring since last March,” Lerner wrote.

Roach said Pacquiao was at 50 to 60 percent of himself when they arrived in Baguio more than a week ago, and said the Pinoy icon should be close to 90 percent before they fly to Los Angeles later this month.

Roach said Team Pacquiao should be in LA on Oct. 23, a Saturday, so Pacquiao could rest the whole of Sunday before plunging back into training the following day.

Source: philstar.com

ANTONIO MARGARITO AND THE TRUTH

The truth hurts so much more than a Pacquiao cross. A perfectly timed punch delivered with the exact amount of speed and power may knock you out cold as it did the pride of Hyde Ricky Hatton in Vegas twice but the truth is something else. It digs deeper into your conscience and saps your self esteem and gradually destroys you. The truth is like a phantom punch with a stigma.

If I was the most hardcore Antonio Margarito fan in the world these days I would have a difficulty in dealing with honesty. This is not in reference to the hand wrapping issue prior to the Mosley fight in the past which Margarito has vehemently denied any knowledge of. I’m talking about the hurt the truth shall bring come November. If I was that kind of fan I would know how it feels by this time how die-hard Manny Pacquiao fans felt years ago when the word Pacnut had been coined to describe that all-out, blinded following to their Pound 4 Pound idol, except that there isn’t a word I know of that describes Margarito’s hardcore fans. May I suggest the word Margatonto? Or, how about, Cheatolava? Nevertheless, if I was a blinded fan of the Tijuana Tornado who follows him like a worker ant and truly believes at this point that a victory over the Pacman is imminent, Honesty must have been tucked in somewhere in the dark corners of my room and the only way to evade it when I’m all alone in bed at night is to have some of those Tequila Gold shots with a pinch of salt and lemon to boost my confidence and numb the pain. Now I wonder why coach Robert Garcia sounded so confident in stating that they are going to shock the world when they fight Manny come November. Isn’t that phrase a cliché already?

Behold the truth!

Antonio Margarito is a rugged edifice built on technical faults. He has not fought for a year after being suspended when he was found to have loaded up his wraps and his last fight was far from interesting in a ten round match that ended in a Unanimous Decision in his favor against Roberto Garcia whom Freddie Roach described as a nice guy who just couldn’t fight. Margarito at best is more hittable than Oscar Dela Hoya. He has practically no defense and just keeps on coming forward that way, and if he continues to do that he will become Manny’s perfect fodder, who thinks Margarito is so slow he throws a punch on Tuesday and lands it on Friday if it ever lands on anything at all with Pacquiao ducking and weaving, firing back with combinations in between.

I do not believe that speed is something the Tijuana Tornado can substantially increase at this point in his career but if he intends to have a shot and stay in the game against the Pacman he must build up some defense while he continues what he does best, which is to hurl so many punches. He must cut the ring more effectively to put on the pressure as the bigger guy, and I hear he’s been working hard on his leg work, and keep his punches crisp and snap it, snap it back up to protect him from counters, instead of his usual looping shots that takes so much travel time to reach its target. He may as well give Manny that feeling of confidence in the first few rounds as he tends to showboat and fool around, lead him to a trap and work on it. Who knows what could transpire from there? But all these are easier said than done, and the chances of a 32 year old fighter changing his game makes this even tougher. From an objective point of view it is so difficult to imagine Margarito pulling off an upset against the Manny Pacquiao we’re all accustomed to seeing fight- a guy blessed with natural hand speed, speedy footwork, devastating power in both hands, decent defense, unfathomable energy reserve, etc… all a Margarito fan has at this point is hope rather than factual basis for victory… and that is the painful truth.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Pacman’s leg injury not serious

BAGUIO City—Celebrated trainer-coach Freddie Roach allayed fears on reports that the leg injury Manny Pacquiao suffered two weeks ago while jogging near his residence in Sta. Rosa, Laguna had worsened.

“There is really nothing to worry about. Everything is under control,” Roach said.

“It might still be hurting, but I’m sure it’s not that serious as some people think,” Roach added after Pacquiao, who is gunning for an eighth title in as many divisions against Mexican Antonio Margarito for the World Boxing Organization super-welterweight crown on Nov. 13 at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas did not do his usual morning run for the third time since arriving here nine days ago.

The Filipino pound-for-pound king also canceled his roadwork last Saturday, but Roach said Pacquiao did not appear to be hurting when they did 14 rounds of the mitts later that day. Pacquiao also sparred with the lanky Michael Medina for four rounds.

“Yesterday (Monday), I gave him 16 rounds with the mitts and we ended up as if nothing serious was going on,” Roach said, adding he will still give the reigning WBO junior-welterweight champion the benefit of the doubt by allowing him to play basketball, which observers blame as the major reason why his (Pacquiao’s) leg continues to hurt.

Since setting foot here, Pacquiao and members of his team have been playing basketball almost nightly after training.

“I have been saying this time and again and I’m saying this again. We have a deal that he’ll stop playing basketball in the last month of our preparation and I expect him to respect that, as he had been doing the past several fights” Roach said.

“He really loves and is happy playing basketball as he loves boxing. If he’s happy, he gives me everything I ask him so that’s been our arrangement. He can play the game as long as he wants to, but when I say stop, he’ll have to stop, ‘” he said.

Roach said Pacquiao has already consulted a doctor, who prescribed massaging and applying ice on the injured leg every morning. He said he had no doubts that the injury will be completely healed in the next few days.

The trainer also said that Pacquiao wearing a leather shoe as part of his attire as congressman may have contributed to the pain the Filipino experiences from time to time during training.

“He’s not used to that kind of footwear (leather shoes), so his heels somewhat swelled. It aggravated when he jogged for a few miles inside the subdivision where his family residence is located,” Roach added.

Yesterday, Pacquiao proved skeptics wrong when he arrived on the dot for his 2 p.m. workout at the Shape Up Gym inside the Cooyessan Hotel along Naguillian Road to get ready for his sparring sessions against Medina and Glenn Tapia. Eddie Alinea

Source: manilastandardtoday.com

Roach downplays injury rumors

BAGUIO CITY – “It’s under control. There’s nothing to worry about.”

This was how trainer Freddie Roach reacted to fears made by some sectors as to the extent of Manny Pacquiao’s leg injury suffered two weeks ago while jogging in a posh subdivision in Santa Rosa in Laguna.

“It might still be hurting, but I’m sure it’s not that serious as some people think,” Roach told this writer yesterday after the seven-division world boxing champion, again, cancelled his schedule roadwork.

It was at least the third time that that phase of his training in preparation for his November 13 World Boxing Council superwelterweight championship fight with Mexican Antonio Margarito had been put off since his team arrived here nine days ago.

Last Saturday, Pacquiao, likewise, cancelled his roadwork set at the city’s Burnham Park due to his aching left heel, but Roach attested his ward didn’t show any trace of the pain in the subsequent 14-round work with the mitts later that day when he also sparred with lanky Michael Medina for four rounds.
“Yesterday (Monday), I gave him 16 rounds with the mitts and we ended up as if nothing serious was going on,” the multi-awarded mentor assured, adding he will still give the reigning WBO welterweight titlist the benefit of the doubt by allowing him to play basketball, which many blame for the slow process of recuperation.

Since setting his foot here, Pacquiao and his team have been playing the game almost nightly after training.
The 1976 Montreal Olympics U.S. boxing team alternate bared that the problem started when the Pacman attended Congressional Session wearing a brand new leather shoes.

Pacquiao was elected congressman in the last election representing the lone district of his wife Jinkee’s home of Sarangani and has dividing his time attending sessions and training the past two weeks.
“I have been saying this time and again and I’m saying this again. We have a deal that he’ll stop playing basketball in the last month of our preparation and I expect him to respect that, as he had been doing the past several fights” he said.

“He really loves and is happy playing basketball as he loves boxing. If he’s happy, he gives me everything I ask him so that’s been our arrangement. He can play the game as long as he wants to, but when I say stop, he’ll have to stop, ‘” he said.
Roach said Pacquiao has already consulted a doctor, who prescribed massaging and applying ice on the injured leg every morning. He said he had no doubt that the injury will be completely healed in that four-month span.

“He’s not used to that kind of footwear so his heels somewhat swelled. It aggravated when he jogged for a few miles inside the subdivision his family residence is located,” he recalled.
Yesterday, Pacquiao himself proved the skeptics wrong when he arrived on the dot at his 2 p.m. workout at the Shape Up Gym inside the Cooyessan Hotel along Naguillian Road which he and his team call home in his scheduled four-week stay in this, the county’s summer capital.

He was supposed to work at least seven rounds against Medina and Glen Tapia whom Roach personally picked as sparring mates for reason that both fight like Margarito does.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Closed sparring for Pacquiao shows Roach taking Margarito seriously

Pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao's November 13th clash with Antonio Margarito at the Dallas Cowboys stadium in Texas is still seen by many as something of an easy fight.

Predictions of very early finishes are rife, and even the bookmakers seem to think that the most likely outcome is a knockout win for Pacquiao before the end of the tenth round.

Part of this is down to the fact that Margarito has had a shaky couple of years with his suspension and bad performances either side of it. Part of it is down to the fact that Pacquiao has thoroughly dominated all of his recent opponents, and has never really been pushed in a fight for several years.

Despite the fact that he is making fast progress during training though, and according to sparring partners is growing steadily sharper and stronger, Pacman trainer Freddie Roach has begun to close the gym during some sparring sessions, which is likely for several reasons.

The reason Roach gave to Ring correspondent Ted Lerner is that Pacquiao tends to showboat when the crowds and media are watching, which understandably he wants to keep to a minimum.

All four of Pacquiao's sparring partners tower over him and if his concentration isn't where it needs to be there is a danger of either getting caught with a big punch or getting cut, both of which could set his training schedule back.

Another similar concern that Roach might have had about the usual crowds filling the gym is that he has instructed Pacquiao's sparring partners, namely Julio Chavez Jr, Glen Tapia, Vanes Martirosyan and Michael Medina to use rough house tactics and to fight in a similar way to Margarito.

At this early stage of the training camp, and against much bigger fighters, this may well result in Pacquiao taking more punishment than usual or than he would towards the end of a training camp when in full fighting shape.

If regular reports went out that Pacquiao was taking a lot of punishment in training, fans might begin to question whether or not he will be able to deal with Margarito on fight night, and the fact that he now has a second career as a politician would again be called into question. Neither of which are things conducive to making Pacquiao confident and focused for November.

Tactical reasons for closing the gym to the public on certain days aren't that likely given that Margarito has historically been fairly easy to prepare for. He technical ability will never be confused with Floyd Mayweather's, but what Margarito does, he does well, and most of his opponents have struggled with him as a result.

Most of all, the fact that Roach is being more strict than usual with Pacquiao's training means that he is taking Margarito as a serious threat. Despite his usual prediction of an easy win for Pacquiao, which he tends to make as much to unsettle or irritate opponents as anything else, Roach knows it will be a tough fight.

If nothing else, Margarito has a great chin and a lot of size on Pacquiao, and will be more motivated than ever. Those attributes coupled with a new trainer he works well with, and this could be Pacquiao's toughest fight since he last took on Juan Manuel Marquez.

Bobby Guilimen, Philly: "Mayweather more or less has to fight the winner if he wants people to ever take him seriously again, and he's terrified of both"

Renton Draugtner, Pittsburgh: "I still can't see this lasting the distance, Pacquiao wins inside ten rounds"

Source: Examiner.com