LOS ANGELES ? Manny Pacquiao?s power was in full display on Friday (Saturday in Manila) when the Filipino fighter sent not once ? but twice ? Freddie Roach?s right-hand mitt flying during training at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.
Roach?s yellow-colored mitt flew after Pacquiao struck it both times with his right hook, a sign that the power behind those set of knuckles are still there and that David Diaz better be durable enough to withstand once it connects this Saturday at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
“We are going to control the fight,” Pacquiao told trainer Freddie Roach, who wants Pacquiao to do everything to avoid being pinned on the ropes by the always-charging Diaz.
In order to do that, Roach has taught Pacquiao to spin away from a crowded situation which the fighter himself thought is crucial in his quest to knock the World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight crown off the Chicago native?s head and become a four-division world champion.
Pacquiao fully understood what needs to be done and what should be avoided in the event Diaz applies the pressure at close range by coming up with a move that is aimed at leaving Diaz being hit either with a left uppercut or a left straight to the head.
“Stay away from the ropes, Manny,” hollered Roach as Buboy Fernandez, an understudy of the American strategist, pinch-hit in the punch-mitt routine.
Roach, who began calling the shots in Pacquiao?s corner in mid-2001, believes that since Diaz is somebody who can take a good shot, Pacquiao might need several rounds to get the job done. In fact, Roach said the end might come by the ninth round when Pacquiao huge advantage in speed and incredible power finally take its toll.
This will be the 14th time that Roach will work in Pacquiao?s corner and he was only absent on three occasions out of 17 assignments. Those three fights took place when Pacquiao faced Thailand?s Fabrakob Rakkiatgym in Oct. 2002 (Davao), Kazakhstan?s Serikzhan Yeshmangbetov in March 2003 (Manila) and Thailand?s Fahsan 3k Battery in Dec. 2004 (Taguig).
On Saturday (Sunday in Manila), Pacquiao will spar six rounds and he will cap his sparring session on Monday with just four rounds, just before Team Pacquiao leaves for Sin City after a press conference in the neighboring city of Santa Monica.
By the time Pacquiao arrives in Las Vegas, he would have already logged 140 rounds of sparring that was completed in just six weeks of training under Roach.
Roach also revealed that the mandatory seven-day weighin that will be supervised by the WBC will also be conducted at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the press conference at the world-famous Santa Monica pier will be staged at 2 p.m. with Pacquiao and Diaz in attendance.
Diaz, making the second defense of the WBC 135-lb diadem, will actually arrive here Sunday night from Chicago accompanied by trainer-cutman-manager Jim Strickland, training assistant Mike Garcia and publicist Bernie Bahrmasel.
