BOXING superstar Manny Pacquiao is in Cebu City to prepare for his grudge rematch with Mexican fighter Marco Antonio Barrera.
Pacquiao said he wants to complete the first phase of his training in Cebu City to prevent “spies” from the Barrera camp from scouting his training regimen and the tactics he is working on.
The first phase of a boxer’s training is when strategies and the game plan are crafted. The second phase is when the boxer perfects the plan and builds stamina.
Pacquiao stopped Barrera in the 11th round of their Nov. 15, 2003 encounter in San Antonio.
The two are set to meet again on Oct. 6 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“This has all been my plan. I want to train here in Cebu and I am very glad that I am very welcome here,” said Pacquiao after his training yesterday.
Pacquiao is training in the RWS International Gym of business partner Rex “Wakee” Salud in Punta Princesa, Cebu City.
Pacquiao inspected the gym last July 24 and suggested improvements on facilities and equipment, indicating he had already been planning to use it as training camp for the Barrera rematch.
Speculations ran wild when Pacquiao decided to leave a scheduled training in the US to return to the country.
“I just went to the US to attend the press conference of the fight and nothing more. We don’t have any arguments with Freddie Roach and we already talked about my training here in Cebu and he will be coming in tomorrow (today), together with my sparring partners,” Pacquiao said.
Pacquiao started working out at the Wild Card Gym in Sucat, Para?aque last Monday before coming to Cebu.
Fans
His first day of training at the newly-refurbished RWS gym was described as “unexpectedly chaotic” with fans crammed at the steel gate while others scaled the seven-foot wall to catch a glimpse of Pacquiao sweating it out with Filipino trainer Buboy Fernandez.
But the fans did not wait in vain as Salud ordered the gates opened right after Pacquiao finished his routines so they could greet the boxer from General Santos City.
“It’s all chaos here. People wanted to see him work out. Some were climbing the wall, some were peeping at the steel gates.
All activities stopped. Even the other boxers stopped their training just to watch Pacquiao practice,” said RWS International promotion matchmaker Willy Flores.
Any talks of rust building up in the 28-year-old Pinoy champion with his time away from the ring were quickly dispelled yesterday.
Pacquiao impressed all those who watched him in his routines, from shadow boxing to pummeling the punching bag and speed ball to skipping ropes and training with punch mitts. All the gym’s boxers stopped training to watch Pacquiao.
Pacquiao also ran at the Cebu City Sports Complex yesterday. Today, however, he will be running on a hilly and isolated stretch in a location picked by Salud: Sta. Lucia Realty in Bulacao, Talisay City.
