PACMAN SPARRING BEGINS TODAY
Los Angeles, CA- The folks over at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood have been anticipating the arrival of Manny Pacquiao for weeks. Now that Pacquiao has landed in Los Angeles (last Saturday), the wheels can finally start rolling and Pac-Time can kick in. Pacman enforcer, Rob Peters, who was there to help Pacquiao weave through 600 fans at LAX, provided this writer with the planned sparring partners to help prepare Pacquiao for his April 14th date against unbeaten Jorge Solis.
FAMILIAR FACES & THE OXNARD EXPRESS
Former WBC interim lightweight champion, Jose Armando Sta. Cruz will be one of many sparring partners set for Pacquiao. Sta. Cruz has sparred with Manny before and is the exact same height as Jorge Solis, though Sta. Cruz likes to brawl and Solis has been reported as a counter-puncher. Also scheduled to work Pacquiao is Jorge Linares, undefeated at 23-0 (14 KOs). This 21-year-old is under the same boxing stable, TEIKEN, as WBA super featherweight titlist, Edwin Valero, and should be an intriguing workout session for both fighters. From the “Oxnard Express,” a group of young fighters that brought in fresh legs to work with Manny during the late stages of his last training, David Rodela is expected to also spar with the Pacman, who is famous for scaring away sparring partners after sometimes just one session. In his first sparring session, scheduled for today, Pacquiao will work with an Australian fighter, brought in by trainer Justin Fortune, who has held down the fort pretty well since Freddie Roach left L.A. for the warmth of Puerto Rico to train Oscar De La Hoya.
TWO PRESS CONFERENCES IN SOUTHLAND
Scheduled this week, Pacquaio and Solis will meet face to face for the first time. The first will take place in Los Angeles with the second, according to Peters, in San Diego. On the heels of Juan Manuel Marquez’s victory over Marco Antonio Barrera, expect little questions about Solis and more towards Pacquiao’s career outside the ring.
