LOS ANGELES ? After sparring six rounds and doing mittwork with trainer Freddie Roach on Thursday (Friday in Manila), Manny Pacquiao bounced around the ring at the Wild Card Boxing Gym here in Hollywood.
He was chatting with his cornermen while shadowboxing, then turned his attention to some Filipino sports scribes who were also on the ring apron to take photos and videos of him.
Pacquiao stomped his right foot on the canvas, wanting to point out something.
?Mas gusto ko ito, mas manipis (I prefer this, it?s thinner),? the Filipino icon said, referring to the floor of the Wild Card?s boxing ring.
Pacquiao, who will face Jessie Vargas next week, had spent the majority of his training camp in Manila, specifically at the Elorde Gym within the SM Mall of Asia Complex, just a stone?s throw away from the Senate building.
Now back in Los Angeles for the final phase of his preparation, Pacquiao couldn?t help but take notice of the difference between the boxing ring at Elorde Gym and that at the Wild Card. Sportshub ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
He definitely preferred the ring at Roach?s famous sweatshop.
?Dito, para akong lumulutang (Here, I feel like floating),? Pacquiao quipped as he demonstrated his lateral movement.
?Ang kapal nung sa Elorde eh (the ring canvas at Elorde is thick), added Pacquiao, showing his thumb and index finger to describe the thickness of the ring canvas at Elorde, something he said is giving him a harder time to move.
?Two rounds here is like four rounds there,? the boxer added.
There?s no need to worry, Pacquiao continued, as the boxing ring that will be used in his tussle with Vargas at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas share the same specifications as the one at Wild Card.
?Ready na tayo,? he said.
