LOS ANGELES ? Manny Pacquiao takes his customary four-hour drive to Las Vegas Monday, leading a convoy of around 14 vehicles in his drive for a fourth sanctioned world title in different weight divisions.
Pacquiao will spar four rounds in the morning at the Wild Card Gym for the final session with just five days left before his date with WBC lightweight champion David Diaz at the Events Center of Mandalay Bay.
After the session, Pacquiao would have logged a total of 140 rounds in sparring, a normal practice as he heads toward a big fight. He arrived here in LA last May 12 and trained heavily for more than six weeks.
From the gym, Pacquiao and his huge entourage of team members, family and friends will head straight to the Sta. Monico Pier here in LA for another press conference that will surely attract more fans.
Diaz, who was scheduled to fly to LA from his Chicago headquarters Sunday evening, will also be around. After this promotional gig, the next time they?ll meet will be on Wednesday, for the formal presscon.
Then the official weigh-in is scheduled Friday, the eve of the fight where Pacquiao aims to become the first Asian boxer to win four world titles. He is also eyeing to become the first Filipino world lightweight champion.
He won the WBC flyweight crown in 1998, the IBF super-bantamweight title in 2001 and the WBC super-featherweight championship only last March. In 2003, he was named featherweight king of the Ring Magazine, widely considered as the bible of boxing.
Pacquiao took a full day-off Sunday, going to church in the morning and heading back to his posh La Palazzo apartment. He welcomed guests, played darts and cards with friends and packed his things up.
When in Vegas, Pacquiao will report to the gym only until Thursday. There?ll be nothing heavy to be done at the IBA Gym, the one owned by former Major League baseball pitcher and 1964 Cy Young awardee Dean Chance.
From hereon, it?s more of the psychological preparations that will take the time of the Filipino icon, and his team members, including trainers Freddie Roach, Buboy Fernandez, Nonoy Neri, Eric Brown and Alex Arriza.
Joe Chavez will be the cutman for Pacquiao.
?Good luck to both of us,? he said.
