MANILA, Philippines ? Boxing superstar and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao has opted not to train inside the premises of the lower house of Congress in Quezon City after House Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte said it was not a good idea.
Pacquiao, who is set to face Mexico?s Antonio Margarito on November 13, said he will open his training camp somewhere near the House of Representatives so he can still work during his free hours from training.
?’Yung pag-eensayuhan kong gym ay malapit lang po sa Batasan? para hindi ako mahirapang pumunta [sa Batasan] pagkatapos ng training ko,? he said in an interview over ANC?s World Tonight on Friday.
(The gym I will be going to is near the Batasan Complex? so it will be easy for me to go to Batasan after training).
The 7-division champion said they will keep their camp secret to allow him to focus on training.
?Hindi siguro namin ipapaalam kung saan kami magte-training kasi ?yung coach kong si Freddie Roach ay ayaw ding maraming tao sa training camp namin (We will not reveal where we?ll train because my coach, Freddie Roach, doesn?t want too many people inside the training camp),? he said.
Pacquiao said he understands Belmonte?s reasons for dissuading him from using the Batasan Pambansa compound as training ground.
?Hindi naman pwede akong magtraining sa loob ng Batasan kasi wala namang gym d’yan at walang mga gamit (I can?t train inside the complex because there’s no boxing equipment there),? he said.
The 31-year-old boxing icon earlier said he plans to train inside the Batasan grounds as he seeks to balance his new job as a lawmaker with his phenomenal sporting career.
?Walang problema. Like what I said, time management lang. Eh ‘di dito ako matutulog sa opisina para jogging na ako diyan bago mag-session or hearing. Anlaki naman dito. Malaki naman ang jogging-an dito,? he said.
(No problem. Like what I said, it’s only time management. I will sleep here in the office so I can jog before a House session. The compound is spacious, anyway).
Pacquiao, the only fighter to have 7 championship belts in as many weight classes, said part of his conditioning would encompass a 3-hour training session that includes jogging.
Pacquiao will fight Margarito for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) junior middleweight belt. Talks for Pacquiao to fight undefeated US star Floyd Mayweather Jr. earlier fell through.
Mayweather had accused Pacquiao of using performance-enhancing drugs, and publicly dared him to undergo blood tests if a showdown between them were to come about.
The Filipino champ agreed in May, but Mayweather failed to meet a July deadline to agree to terms of what could be the most lucrative fight in boxing history. — With a report from Agence France-Presse
