Manny Pacquiao’s 2007 results made it clear something wasn’t right.
Distracted mostly by his attempt to win election to a congressional seat in his native Philippines, Pacquiao’s eighth-round knockout of little-known Jorge Solis last April was not the dazzling performance usually turned in by the fast-punching, power-fisted dynamo who had emerged as the “Mexican Assassin” by destructing the country’s great fighters, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera.
Then, in an October rematch with Barrera, whom Pacquiao had dominated in a 2003 technical knockout, the Filipino star won a unanimous decision with a lackluster effort.
Not only had Pacquiao lost his national election, his Filipino fans were questioning what happened to their icon’s superior skills.
“First, it took him eight rounds to take an ordinary guy, then no one back home thought Barrera would last past six,” said Manila Bulletin sportswriter Nick Giongco.
Pacquiao’s handlers huddled and assessed that their star’s decision to spend the entire Barrera training camp in his home country was a mistake. He’s too popular there, and was bombarded with too many requests that tugged him away from his ring commitments.
Pacquiao, 29, said he agreed a watershed moment in his career had arrived.
“I was not 100% focused, and I was not too excited by my performances in those two fights,” Pacquiao said last week as he concluded his training in Hollywood. In a less public admission, trainer Freddie Roach said Pacquiao told him he was fighting at “50%” and felt “bored.”
So after the Barrera fight, Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, summoned Pacquiao to Las Vegas for a meeting with his manager and trainer.
“I couldn’t get him to concentrate on either the promotion or his training for Solis, and we held our breath as he trained overseas before Barrera,” Arum said. “That was ludicrous. It was with much trepidation that we sent him into that fight.”
Arum “laid it out” during a two-hour lunch meeting with the boxer, according to a Top Rank official who attended the summit.
“If you want to go where you want to go, you’ve got to be more focused — we have ambitious plans for you,” Arum told Pacquiao.
“All I did,” Arum said, “was reinforce what everyone was telling me about the way Manny was going. It carried more weight, probably, because I’m the one who pays everybody.”
Pacquiao remembers the scolding like this: “Some people advised me my performance was getting down, and I realized it was true.”
In the discussion, Arum revealed a proposed 2008 fight schedule for Pacquiao: a rematch with World Boxing Council super-featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday, followed by WBC lightweight champion David Diaz in the summer and former light-welterweight world champion Ricky Hatton in the late fall.
Arum asked Pacquiao if he’d fight those three, and the boxer answered yes.
So conditions were attached. Eight weeks of pre-fight training for Marquez would be done with veteran trainer Roach in Hollywood. Distractions such as poker trips with the entourage to the Commerce Casino and injury risks such as pickup basketball games would be eliminated.
A strict rotation of hard work, followed by mostly isolated rest would be necessary, because his first opponent, Marquez — who responded to three first-round knockdowns at Pacquiao’s hands in 2004 to gain a draw — was identified as the toughest of the three 2008 foes.
“There’s no doubt,” Pacquiao said. “I’ve trained hard.”
The Hatton fight has since fallen through, Arum said this week, but the promoter is now angling to land a fight against Oscar De La Hoya after Diaz.
Photo caption: Manny Pacquiao, center, runs with fellow Filipino boxers, from left, Diosdado Gabi, Aenel Fontanilla, Pacquiao, Michael Farenas and Gerry Penalosa in Griffith Park, training for his super-featherweight title bout Saturday against Juan Manuel Marquez. He has committed to a rigorous routine that includes fthree weekly 58-minute runs in the hills from Griffith Observatory to the Hollywood sign.
