HOLLYWOOD ? Manny Pacquiao said Saturday there?s no reason, no cause for concern just because he skipped his gym session the other day at the Wild Card Gym.
No, he?s not hurting.
?Okay lang ako. Wala naman (It?s nothing). Ready na tayo sa laban (for the fight),? said Pacquiao as he left the gym following a two-hour closed-door session.
Pacquiao sparred five rounds with Guislain Maduma and four rounds with Lydell Rhodes, then did six rounds with the mitts and a few more on the heavy bag, speed ball and double-end bag.
Maduma, a Congolese-Canadian, suffered a cut on his lower lip during the session. Last Thursday, Rhodes stepped out of the ring with blood stains on his towel.
?He was really good today. He threw a lot of combinations,? said Rhodes. Sportshub ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
?Okay ang sparring ? nine rounds,? said Pacquiao, who did not train the other day. He came to the gym looking tired after 12 rounds of sparring the day before and a grueling trek on Griffith Park the following morning.
Freddie Roach thought of sending him home, saying it?s the best thing to do when he feels that his boxer is not in his elements.
Pacquiao said there?s no other reason behind the cancellation.
Have no fear. There?s no tear.
As he trained for the Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight last May, Pacquiao skipped training more than a couple times, and everybody else thought everything was fine.
It turned out later on that Pacquiao had suffered a torn rotator cuff on his right shoulder two weeks before the fight, an injury that needed surgery four days after he lost to Mayweather.
The injury took months to heal, and Pacquiao is now on the comeback trail, eleven months since the Mayweather fight.
?Nagpahinga lang (I just rested). Araw-araw naman ang training dito (I train here everyday. Yun lang. Nagpahinga,? said the boxer.
Well, he didn?t look tired Saturday.
In the morning, he was out at the Pan Pacific Park for his road work, a typical rollercoaster run from his Larchmont Park residence to the park, which is just a couple of miles away.
After the sparring session, Pacquiao did everything he normally does. He shadow-boxed and worked on his abs.
He shared some light moments with those who surrounded the ring, first talking about a recent NBA game that he saw and then how UFC fighters could take hard kicks on their legs.
One of his training assistants, Nonoy Neri, said Pacquiao looked ?150 percent ready.?
Pacquiao overheard Neri, and jokingly said, ?Binobola niyo ako ah (You?re pulling my leg).
Roach agreed that Pacquiao is ready.
?He?s ready to fight any time ? even tomorrow. He looks good. He looks sharp. He?s all set,? said Roach.
?It?s a good thing he took the extra day off yesterday. He looked better today. We?re all set. Three more sparring days and we?re done,? Roach added.
