Manny Pacquiao was back at the Wild Card Gym yesterday, a Monday in the US, and made the most of his time two days before the promotional road tour for his ?Dream Match? with Oscar dela Hoya begins.
Pacquiao, according to www.insidesports.ph, did six rounds of mitts with trainer Freddie Roach, and just went through the normal grind, a two-hour workout preceded by a 30-minute run in the morning.
Roach described it as a ?very good workout.? Although he runs daily in the morning, Pacquiao was quite busy outside the gym last week, and got his bearings back by playing basketball last Sunday in a nearby park.
The www.insidesports.ph report said Pacquiao weighed in at 152 pounds, just five pounds off the weight limit with still 66 days to go before his mega-showdown with the king of pay-per-view.
Roach also reacted to a recent story saying that Dela Hoya was going for a knockout against the smaller Pinoy king of pound-for-pound.
?He better because if you look for a knockout it never happens,? Roach was quoted as saying.
The week-long promo tour begins on Oct. 1 at the Statue of Liberty in New York. It starts at noon and will be open to the public. The following day, they will be in Chicago, at the Sears Tower for a media-only event.
On Oct. 3 the fighters will be at the Space Center in Houston for another media event, then the historic Alamo the next day for a public gig to be followed by a visit to the Golden Gate Park Chrissy Field the next day.
The tour winds up with another public gathering on Oct. 7 at the Whittier Boulevard Arch in Los Angeles.
Roach said while on the tour, Pacquiao will have to train, saying they?ve worked it out with Top Rank boss Bob Arum to provide them with a gym wherever they are.
All the real hard work comes after the tour, and sparring should begin any day afterwards.
