LAS VEGAS — The way the name of the group has been tossed into the third and final installment of the Manny Pacquiao-Erik Morales rivalry, it may seem like Velocity Sports Performance has a lot riding on the outcome of the November 18 duke-out.
The members of the team that helped condition ?El Terible? Morales for the fight, though, don?t want the match to end up a showcase of Velocity?s capabilities.
?We?ve done our job,? said Jorgen Persson, Velocity?s exercise physiologist, who hinted that it was now time for his group to retreat to the shadows after a four-month training period with Morales. ?I?ve never seen [Morales] in better shape than he is now.?
?He?s a better boxer now,? added the Swede. ?People say he?s a better boxer, his coach says he?s a better boxer, his sparring partners say he?s a better boxer, and his father [trainer Jose] says he?s a better boxer.?
Velocity has been in the limelight after a verbal war exploded between Morales and Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach over the group?s weight-reduction techniques, which old-school boxing experts — whose school of thought Velocity says Roach espouses — say do not fit in the boxing world.
?One thing I learned about boxing is that it?s such an old school sport and trainers still believe in making boxers chop wood as part of their training and stuff like that which put boxing back to the bare-knuckle days,? said nutritionist Jerry Brainum, who, with Persson, has actually been with boxing for several years now.
The two worked the Oscar De La Hoya camp and was with the Golden Boy during his undefeated run. After the two parties split ways due to a managerial conflict, De La Hoya lost his first bout — to Felix ?Tito? Trinidad .
?We?re not trying to go against tradition,? added Persson. ?We?re just trying to merge chopping wood with new scientific techniques for the good of boxing.?
The Pacquiao-Morales grudge match would have been a perfect place to prove a point, but Brainum and Persson believe that they?ve already made a sufficient case for Velocity.
?We believe we?ve conditioned him well and made him ready for this one,? Brainum explained. ?One thing we don?t have control over is the actual boxing skills.?
Now, everything is up to Morales. And despite reports that the Mexican legend may have spent himself dry to meet up with Velocity?s regimen, Persson believes their ward still has a lot to spare.
?We didn?t train Erik too hard,? he said. ?We didn?t burn him out because we studied his needs and wants and came to a decision as to what he can handle. And we based our program on that.?
Still, Velocity doesn?t want to create the image that a Morales victory will validate their program.
?It?s like if someone gives us a race car, a Ferrari, with 400 [horsepower],? Persson explained. ?You want better suspension? We give you better suspension. We give you better handling. You want more [horsepower], we give you 600 horses. But we don?t drive the race for you.
?It?s up to the coach to take this stronger, faster and better-performing machine and make the most out of it,? he added.
