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PACQUIAO BREAKS L.A. CAMP AND HEADS TO LAS VEGAS MONDAY By Eddie Alinea PhilBoxing.com Mon, 27 Apr 2015 LOS ANGELES, Cal. -- After completing 57 days in and out of his training camp here in this city of Angels, World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao drives to Las Vegas Monday (Tuesday in Manila) where he will be confronting American Floyd Mayweather Jr. in an epic encounter five days from now. The 36-yer-old Filipino superhero leaves for the site of the welterweight unification showdown with the unbeaten holder of the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association 147-pound division titles armed with what his handlers claimed are needed arsenal to deal Money May his first defeat in 48 fights and be declared the undisputed kingpin in his class. Plus, of course, the honor of joining Fighter of the Century Sugar Ray Robinson, legendary prizefighters Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Joe Frazier and Henry Armstrong, among others, in the elite list of ?Greatest? boxers of all-time. According to his Hall of Fame chief trainer Freddie Roach, the eight-division world titleholder would have completed no less than 118 rounds of sparring, counting the four he will be doing Monday before departing, against no less than eight sparmates, whose styles resemble both the defensive and offensive forte of Mayweather, which, he added, are enough to shatter the latter?s immaculate 47-0 win-loss record. Following the remaining days of training prior to the big fight, assistant trainer Roger ?Haplas? Fernandez swore Pacquiao would have logged 1,200 minutes of roadwork at the mountainous Griffith Hills and the flat Pan Pacific Park circuit here. Count the 50 or so rounds in heavy bags, double-end and speed balls and conditioning floor exercises, the husband of the Sarangani Vice Gov. Jinkee, is, indeed, ready and ripe to rumble for as many as 20 rounds in the squared jungle of the MGM Grand Arena inside the posh MGM Garden Hotel. The father of three boys ? Jimwell, Michael and Baby Israel and two girls, Princess and Queennie ? has proclaimed himself as to have survived the rigor of the build up regimen charted by Roach and conditioning guru Justin Fortune and ably implemented by members of the training staff ? Buboy Fernandez, Nonoy Neri, Haplas and Marvin Somodio. ?I have been in deep training for the past three months, including some four weeks in GenSan (General Santos City) and I believe we?ve attained the target we aimed to accomplish," Pacquiao, who is also the first man in the history of boxing to own four world lineal titles said. ?Actually, last week pa lamang ready na talaga ako,? he added. The remaining days of preparations in Las Vegas para ma-maintan na lang whatever we had just attained,? he said. ?Kahit bukas puwede na tayong lumaban.? Preparations resume Tuesday in Las Vegas with the shortened 30 to 40 minutes morning run at a privately-owned oval, according to Fortune in lieu of the traditional Grand Arrival ceremony, which was canceled. He will repeat the routine Wednesday before resting on Thursday in preparation for the official weigh-in Friday, the eve of the fight. Meanwhile, Pacquiao made a pitch for Filipina Mary Jane Veloso, a convicted drug mule in Indonesia who is facing death penalty via firing squad. In a statement addressed to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the Sarangani Congressman begged for an executive clemency to save the life of Ms. Veloso and sparing her from execution. ?Mr. President, on May 2, I will be fighting in Las Vegas, Nevada, against Floyd Mayweather Jr., which is considered the fight of the century,? Pacquiao?s statement, made on the behest of the family of Veloso, said. ?It will be a great morale booster if, in my own little way, I can save a life. I am dedicating this fight to my country and the entire Asian people to where the Philippines and Indonesia belong,? the statement, aired live over GMA 7, said. Top photo: The Pacquiao bus that will take some of Pacquiao's entourage to Las Vegas on afternoon. Pacquiao makes an appeal to Indonesian president Joko Widodo over Philippine TV network GMA 7. Photos by Windell Rupert Alinea. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea. |
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