HOLLYWOOD–The taskmaster returned and quickly made his presence felt at the sweaty Wild Card Gym here.
After a two-day absence due to cold, Freddie Roach was back relaying instructions to Manny Pacquiao on Thursday as his prized ward sparred for eight rounds before going through his afternoon workout in temperatures that went as high as 40-degree Celsius.
Roach noticed that Pacquiao was playing around with sparmates Steve Quinones, Carlos Tangaro and Julio Gamboa and he told Filipino trainer Buboy Fernandez about it. Roach was far from displeased though. He knows that when Pacquiao toys around, it mean he’s ready to rumble.
“Our training has been great,” said Roach. “We did eight rounds today. He’s being a little playful but that’s fine. We’ll go down to six rounds on Saturday and four on Monday.”
Team Pacquiao will close camp on Monday, then proceed to Las Vegas in a convoy after a luncheon press conference in Santa Monica, California.
A stickler for rules, Roach said he threw himself out of the gym after contracting cold from Pacquiao himself.
“Manny had a little cold and I was working so close, so he gave it to me,” said Roach. “When people who are sick would come to the gym I used to throw them out, so I threw myself out the other day. I didn’t even come to his workout. Now I’m back and I feel fine. Buboy did a good job. He always does a good job.”
Though Roach admits that Pacquiao’s vaunted speed “is not there yet,” he said he will regain it when the Filipino ring icon loses more weight and winds up his preparations for the June 28 WBC lightweight belt clash with champion David Diaz.
“The footwork is what we’re really working on for this fight because we feel that the side-to-side motion will pose problems for Diaz,” said Roach. “He’s at 139. He’s where he wants to [be].”
