Manny Pacquiao pounded the rugged terrains of Davao at the crack of dawn yesterday and did torrid workout and sparring in the afternoon to show that he?s back into serious business of regaining his old dangerous form.
Under the watchful eye of American trainer Freddie Roach, the flamboyant Pacquiao was on the road by 5 a.m., running up and down the mountains of Davao and in one stretch, keeping a furious pace for 35 minutes.
“Grabe. He was even outrunning the trucks on the highway,” said one of Pacquiao?s handlers.
Although Team Pacquiao is confident that he could be in excellent condition on his Dec. 11 clash with Fahsan 3K Battery at The Fort, the 26-year-old Gen. Santos southpaw appears not to be leaving anything to chance for the crucial encounter with the veteran slugger from Bangkok.
The Filipino fighter is going full throttle in training since so much is at stake in his forthcoming bout foremost of which is the megabuck rematch with Mexican champion Juan Manuel Marquez on Feb. 26 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
To underscore his desire to reach superb condition in a bid to come up with a convincing win before local fans, Pacquiao even decided to do away with his Sunday off, insisting on continuing on his training.
“Roach told him to rest on Sunday but Manny insisted that he would go on with his workout,” another member of the team said.
Roach said his ward is now 70 percent in shape and expects Pacquiao to reach peak form come fight night. Impressed with his ward?s determination, Roach said that “nobody works harder in the gym than Manny.”
Before a big crowd, Pacquiao sparred 10 rounds at the Almendas gym yesterday, including six with RP lightweight champ Fernando Montilla and four with RP super lightweight Chris Saluday, whom he knocked out in a session the other day.
However, Michael Kloncz, a close associate of Roach who?s also in the business of training boxers in the US, particularly in the heavier divisions, has expressed concern on the lack of quality training facility in Davao and the horde of spectators milling around the gym everyday.
“There is just too much distraction compared to training in the US,” said Kloncz, who singled out the crowd that gathered around the gym yesterday, saying this could take away the fighter?s concentration from training.
In fact, Kloncz said some of Pacquaio?s assistants even had to drive the crowd away several times during yesterday?s session just to give the champion breathing space.
But Klonz was also very confident that in spite of the distraction, Pacquaio would win his two fights. “Manny will win definitely, even with the distraction.”
The American lawyer, nevertheless, conceded it was Pacquaio?s decision to train here in Davao City. “It is his way, it is his decision. He wants to be with his fans. He wants to be with the people,” Kloncz added. “Freddie (Roach) and Manny have mutual respect for each other. That is why Manny is now taking his training more seriously than he did before Freddie arrived,” said Kloncz, who arrived here a week ahead of Roach.
