Manny Pacquiao tipped the scales at 139 lbs Thursday, saying he felt terrific in his first two days at the gym and that he sees no problem making the weight for his Oct. 6 rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera in Las Vegas.
?Maganda ang simula ng training (The training is off to a good start),? said Pacquiao yesterday in an overseas call from Los Angeles. He said he?s been to the Wild Card Gym twice since flying in Wednesday evening.
Pacquiao was in his expensive La Palazzo apartment when he gave a very brief rundown of his first two days in training for the big rematch with Barrera whom he knocked out in the 11th round in 2003, catapulting him to instant stardom.
?Jogging in the morning and two hours in the gym in the afternoon,? said Pacquiao of his typical workout that includes 1,000 sit-ups and crunches a day. This will go on religiously for the next seven weeks or so.
?Everything?s okay. I feel fine. I?m at 139 pounds,? added the 28-year-old superstar who worked out Wednesday and Thursday under the supervision of Pinoy trainers Buboy Fernandez and Nonoy Neri.
His chief trainer, Freddie Roach, is in Sacramento, California, handling the bunch of RP boxers that will face their counterparts from Mexico in a bilateral slugfest set this Saturday at the Arco Arena (Sunday morning in Manila).
Roach, however, will sit beside Pacquiao in a press conference at the posh Beverly Hills Hotel on Friday. Barrera will be around, too, in the media event that was supposed to be held Wednesday.
Pacquiao will be at ringside for the Boxing World Cup: Mexico vs Philippines.
He said he did seven rounds of mitts with Fernandez Thursday. Those who were present at the gym, including sports dentist Ed dela Vega and boxing analyst Hermie Rivera, said the boxer ?is in good shape as ever.?
This is going to be Pacquiao?s first fight since his April 14 victory over Mexican Jorge Solis in San Antonio, Texas. It will also be his first since the May 14 elections where he sought a seat in Congress.
