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Philippines, 07 May 2024 |
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Pacquiao can spell the difference, again By Eddie Alinea PhilBoxing.com Sun, 10 Oct 2010  Manny Pacquiao stands to miss, again, today?s scheduled training in Baguio City. The seven-division champion and his retinue flew to Manila following Saturday?s workout to, according to Pacquiao himself, attend to his job as a lawmaker representing the province of Sarangani. He attended yesterday?s ?Run for Pasig? project as one of the celebrities invited to grace the occasion and today, he is scheduled to meet with President Aquino. So what else is new? This is the second time that he is skipping one complete training day since landing in the Pines City two weeks ago where he also missed no less than three rounds of roadwork and a number of sparring sessions on account of swollen left heel and a mild attack of flu. Does skipping today?s session disrupts his preparations and, thus, prejudice his coming November 13 fight with Mexican Antonio Margarito for the piece of the world welterweight crown? Or, as many of his fans fear, is he really that overconfident that he can beat Margarito even with insufficient training? Margarito, his believers argue, represents several fresh challenges for the Pacman. The former champ is the tallest fighter Pacquiao will be facing in his fruitful 15-year pro-career. And the heaviest, too. He also had been stopped only once.. Reports of missed training days, recurring injuries and playing basketball instead of rest and recuperation, indeed, worry his fans, especially his countrymen, who adored him so much, they consider his downfall a big blow for whatever meaning his being champion represents. Some are even questioning whether Pacquiao has lost his desire or whether he perhaps believes Margarito is an easy opponent he can take it easy in training for. Far from that, especially if one is to recall the many misses in training he had undergone in his previous big fights. As in those fights prior, Pacquiao is still the heavy favorite, and rightly so. He will enter the ring as ready as he always is,despite the basketball, and whether or not he encounters any minor injuries or ailments between now and fight night at the luxurious Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. One has probably forgotten that the Filipino sensation has the best team of handlers in the world today that is overseeing everything pertaining to preparations. There is Freddie Roach, the four-time trainer of the year awardee, who has learned to tolerate every Pacquiao antics so successfully since teaming up nine years ago. Rolach decides on all boxing-related matters, including who would be the sparring partners with conditioning and nutrition falling under Alex Ariza?s turf. And Pacquiao, well, he can do anything under the sun for as long as he?s happy, provided he makes everybody from Roach to Ariza to his simple fans, happy comes fight night. Which he had done not once, twice but many times before. And speaking of sparring mates, Pacquiao already has up-and-coming junior and super welterweights Glen Tapia and Michael Medina, both tall, hefty and power-puncher working on him since his first week in Baguio. Middleweight prospect Amir Khan had just arrived and is on standing by should he be needed, which Roach said he would be. American sensation Julio Cezar Chavez is also flying along with Vanes Martirosyan to throw punches at his prized ward. Roach brought them, who are all under his wing at the famous Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, all tall, fast and quicker than Margarito, who, incidentally is not privileged to enjoy those perks. Can anyone name one Margarito sparring partner possessing Khan, Chavez and company?s credentials? Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.  |
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