The decision of Oscar De La Hoya to spend eight weeks of high-altitude training in Big Bear, California won?t benefit much the Golden Boy when he faces Filipino fireball Manny Pacquiao on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas.
Alex Ariza, Pacquiao?s Hispanic conditioning coach, said the wonders of training in the mountains only has its benefits if it is done for at least eight months straight. Ariza said the system of the body reverts back to its normal state 48 hours upon leaving the highlands.
Big Bear has an altitude of 8,000 feet and can be reached by land from Los Angeles in two hours. There is also a small airport there and De La Hoya will likely lease a private plane when he travels to Sin City on Dec. 1 or 2, according to Eric Gomez, vice president of Golden Boy Promotions.
Interestingly, Las Vegas is located in a valley at 2,030 feet but Ariza still believes De La Hoya?s suspect conditioning ? which he has observed in his last few fights ? would hamper his chances of staving off Pacquiao?s challenge.
Ariza said Pacquiao has been displaying lots of energy during training at the Wild Card Boxing Club in the lowlands of Hollywood where the Filipino has been working out like a madman the last two weeks.
“Manny?s always (be) on fifth gear,” said Ariza, who also reveals that Pacquiao lifts weights as part of a state-of-the-art training regimen he has cooked up for the scheduled 12-round welterweight war at the MGM Grand Garden Arena dubbed ??The Dream Match.??
De La Hoya is not the first fighter Pacquiao will meet who underwent high-altitude training.
The three (Mexican) Musketeers ? Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez ? also did the same thing but they all lost to Pacquiao.
Morales headed off to the Otomi mountains, while Barrera once stayed at Big Bear and Marquez lived like a monk in Sierra Nevado near the city of Toluca when he revved up for Pacquiao early this year.
