Team Pacquiao member Lito Mondejar yesterday said he was confident there will be enough time for Pacquiao to get into tip-top shape for the Feb. 26 rematch with WBA/IBF champion Juan Manuel Marquez.
Mondejar conceded that Marquez was ?a very good fighter? and that he would probably be in better shape this time around because he has been training at an altitude of 10,000 feet for the past month.
Marquez wants to strengthen his resistance to the devastating power of Pacquiao who decked him three times in the first round of their showdown last May.
Informed that Pacquiao hadn?t begun training because of the Christmas season amidst reports that he was seen at a cockfighting derby in Davao City where he had an entry, Mondejar said that ?if he leaves on January 8 it will be enough time because when he starts training in LA, Manny trains really hard. I am confident he will be ready on February 26.?
Mondejar, who usually travels with Ring Magazine featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao to supervise his training at the Wild Card Gym of Freddie Roach, disclosed that he won?t be leaving with Pacquiao for Los Angeles.
Mondejar told Viva Sports/Manila Standard that he couldn?t stand the cold weather at this time of the year so he won?t be able to keep an eye on the Filipino flamboyant champion until the first week of February.
Pacquiao is scheduled to depart for Los Angeles on Jan. 8 with Filipino trainer Buboy Fernandez.
