LOS ANGELES – Manny Pacquiao stepped inside the ring as fiery as the red flames decorated on his white trunks during his open media workout at the Wildcard Boxing Club last Thursday.
The Filipino boxer left no doubt in the spectators’ mind that he is ready for his re-match against Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera. Their super featherweight bout at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino is scheduled on October 6. Pacquiao had earlier defeated Barrera last November 2003 in San Antonio, knocking him down twice in 11 rounds before Barrera’s corner stopped the fight.
In a six-round sparring session, Pacquiao showed magnificent footwork, head movement and even a little flamboyance entertaining the crowd with a Muhammed Ali type shimmy step.
“I’ve been training good,” said Pacquiao. “I’m 100 percent and I’m well conditioned for this fight.” Boxing trainer Freddie Roach said to expect a different Pacquiao in this fight.
“My main goal is to make Manny a better fighter,” said Roach. “We worked on his head movement and footwork. He’s always had a great left cross but now he has developed a stronger right jab that compliments it.”
Four years have passed, but neither Roach nor Pacquiao expect the same outcome against Barrera to happen this time around.
“Last fight, I was just lucky that I won,” admitted Pacquiao. “In this fight, I’m more prepared.”
Pacquiao arrived in Los Angeles last September 22 after six weeks of training at the Wildcard Gym in Cebu. Roach said he was glad they trained in the Philippines even when the crowd seemed to get out of hand.
“What I learned from Oscar [De La Hoya] when I trained him in Puerto Rico is the one-on-one teaching,” said Roach. “It’s very good for me. I can fully concentrate on just Manny.”
“You know I had to put my foot down. I told them to F-off,” added Roach about the large crowds that wanted to watch Pacquiao train. “I threatened that I would leave if they didn’t get it settled. At the end, it worked out. They’ll [the fans will] thank me later for it.”
Dirty Fighter
Roach hopes the one-on-one training session pays off come October 6. He sees no way that Barrera can beat Pacquiao.
“Barrera can’t outbox us or out-slug us,” said Roach. “I don’t see him winning this fight unless Barrera resorts to dirty [boxing] tactics.”
In their last match, the referee warned Barrera for a head-butt on Pacquiao’s chest in the seventh round. In the tenth round, the referee deducted a point from Barrera when he hit Pacquiao after a clinch.
Reports coming from the Philippines said Roach spent a large amount of time teaching Pacquiao how to counter Barrera’s possible “dirty” shots.
”I’m not saying he [Barrera] is a dirty fighter,” said Roach. “Let’s just say he’s a very physical fighter. If that’s what he [Barrera] is going to do, we’re ready for it.”
Pacquiao said he’s not going to fight dirty.
“That’s not my responsibility,” Pacquiao said. “That’s the referee’s responsibility.”
Another concern Roach has with Pacquiao is his lack of defense. Pacquiao has never been known as a Floyd-Mayweather-type-defender. He is usually the aggressor in his matches. His defense follows the saying “the best defense is a good offense.”
During the first sparring session, a few right crosses and left hooks sneaked through Pacquiao’s guard. However, Pacquiao revealed a new defensive style, displaying the Philly shell defense with both forearms horizontally covering his face.
“Pacquiao is the type of fighter that goes all out, always trying to close out the fight,” Roach said. “I’m confident that Manny can stay in control.”
Distractions
“It wouldn’t be Manny, if there were no distractions,” Top Rank President Bob Arum once joked.
Distractions always seem to be a hot topic when discussing Pacquiao.
Trainer Freddie Roach said he’s not worried about distractions following Pacquiao in the ring.
“The gym is where he [Pacquiao] is most comfortable at,” said Roach.
Pacquiao said that those distractions – a failed bid for Congress, alleged love affairs, rumors about money troubles, and problems with his entourage – will not follow him in the ring.
“All the rumors out there [about me] are not true,” he said. “There are no distractions for me. I’m focused on this fight.”
Easy Win
Most boxing pundits have Pacquiao winning this match easily.
When asked if there is a sense of overconfidence coming into this match, Roach said he and Pacquiao learned their lessons when they faced Erik Morales the first time in 2005.
“Morales had just lost [against Barrera in 2004] and we thought he just wanted the big payday,” said Roach. “I won’t let that happen again.”
Roach said they are fully prepared for every scenario going into this fight.
“You know anything can happen,” he said. “Manny might have a bad night but I can tell you one thing. If Pacquiao loses, we have no excuses.”
Pacquiao on the other hand just wants to give a good fight.
“I’m just going to do my best to win this fight,” he said. “The most important thing is to give a good fight to all the fans worldwide.” (AJ)
