LOS ANGELES ? Strength and conditioning coach Alejandro Ariza said yesterday the training program he has laid out for Manny Pacquiao will guarantee a more explosive performance against WBC lightweight champion David Diaz at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on June 28.
Ariza, 33, was hired by Freddie Roach to join the Wild Card Gym staff six months ago. He took over from Justin Fortune, the former Australian heavyweight fighter who left Roach?s camp after a financial dispute.
Ariza was initially assigned to work with Filipino fighters Bobby Pacquiao and Diosdado Gabi.
?Alex sent me his resume which is quite impressive,? said Roach. ?I put him to work on Bobby and Gabi. Now, he?s taking care of Manny and doing a good job.?
Ariza, who is from Bogota, Colombia, migrated to the US when he was 13 and attended San Diego State where he played baseball until a shoulder injury ended his varsity career. He took up kinesiology-the science of human movement, biochemistry and nutrition with a specialization in sports at the Health Science College of Medicine in Syracuse, New York.
Ariza worked with former world champion Diego Corrales for three years until his death due to a motorcycle accident. He was also hired by Erik Morales, Angel Manfredy and UFC fighter Andrei Arlovsky as strength and conditioning coach.
?Working with Freddie and Manny is like appearing in a starring role in a movie,? said Ariza. ?They?re the best in the business. I don?t want to disappoint them. Manny is such a disciplined fighter. My fear is he has a tendency to overtrain because he works so hard that I have to pull the reins.?
Ariza said his job is to bring Pacquiao to a higher level of conditioning. He has developed a program that is scientific and comprehensive. Now that Pacquiao is moving up to the 135-pound division, Ariza said he wants to make sure the added weight will add to his power and not slow him down.
?I?ve suggested sprints for his morning run, a lot of drills to improve his stamina,? he went on. ?I?m looking at his fast-twitch muscles to create more explosiveness in his movements. At this stage, I don?t want to overwhelm him with new things. Too much information could burn him out. We?re taking it one step at a time but for sure, we?re introducing cutting-edge routines. We want Manny to be as sharp as he can be for Diaz.?
Ariza said he studied Diaz? style before formulating the program for Pacquiao.
?We looked at Diaz and what he brings to the table,? said Ariza. ?We?re working to exploit his weaknesses. We know he?ll use his body weight to lean on Manny. He?s slow so we?ll make sure Manny is fast. At this point in Manny?s training, I would rate his progress at eight on a scale of one to 10. He?ll be at his peak at fight night.?
Ariza said he monitors Pacquiao?s heart beat, both at rest and at work.
?Manny is in phenomenal physical condition,? said Ariza. ?When he wakes up, his heart rate is 42 beats a minute. Olympic cross country skiers do 30 to 42. and they?re always in great shape. We?re working on Manny?s heart rate at the peak of his workouts and his recovery rate, too. We simulate the energy he uses in a round of boxing in a gym workout so we can track his heart rate.?
Ariza said he is impressed by the Filipino fighters? work ethic. Aside from Pacquiao, he now watches the likes of Rodel Mayol, Aaron Melgarejo and Bernabe Concepcion train at the Wild Card Gym.
?You don?t have to motivate them to train because they?ll give you 100 percent in the gym,? said Ariza. ?They see what hard work has done for Manny who is their inspiration. They all want to be like Manny and they know to do it, they?ve got to work even harder than Manny, if that?s possible.?
