There has been plenty of conjecture about the training camp of Manny Pacquiao, from his time spent in the Philippines to his last few weeks in Hollywood at the Wild Card Boxing Club, as he looks ahead to his November 13th tussle against Antonio Margarito. The rumors and innuendos are that the ?Pac-Man? is an unfocused and under-motivated fighter, who seems more concerned about this political duties, being seen singing duets with Jimmy Kimmel (during this stretch), making evening rendezvous to Las Vegas (to endorse political candidates) and getting a feature on a segment of ?60 Minutes.?
In between all this, the intensity level of his training and his commitment has been questioned from within and by outsiders. Even more than the validity of Margarito as an opponent (or whether or not Margarito should be even be allowed to fight at all), this has become the dominant storyline of this promotion that takes place at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
And how much has Margarito and his camp listened to all this?
“I?ve heard many reports; there?s been talk that he?s not training well; he?s not serious; it?s not a good camp. But he?s a professional; I don?t really believe that. I expect a good Manny that night,” Margarito told Maxboxing, through his manager, Sergio Diaz, this past Wednesday after one of his final days of sparring.
Margarito?s trainer, Robert Garcia, says of these conflicting reports coming out of Camp Pacquiao, “I believe Freddie Roach is a great trainer. Been in this for many years, there?s no way that they?re taking it easy or they?re not training hard for this fight. All that I don?t believe; I want to see the best Manny inside the ring. That way, there?s no excuses after the fight; we get the credit like we deserve and if it goes the other way around, same thing. Give him the same credit they deserve.”
If you?re in the sport of boxing, it?s become almost impossible not to have heard about the supposed goings-on with Pacquiao. But Garcia says of his own fighter, “He don?t believe that. We talk all the time; we talk every day. In the mornings when we?re running, we drive together wherever we?re going to run. We talk a lot. We talk a lot about the plan, the way things are going and also what we hear. And Tony doesn?t believe that. He wants to see the best Manny out there also.”
Whether or not Freddie Roach is trying to motivate his own fighter or attempting a play-action fake on the opposition, the best way to combat this is to simply ignore it; put your head down and get to work.
“I?ll be honest with you; I stay away from what?s being written as well,” said Diaz, “because there?s so much negativity out there, so I try to avoid reading it. But from what we?ve heard, that?s what happening; that?s what they say is happening out at the Pacquiao camp. But y? know what? We?re not paying any attention to it. We?re focused on our game plan and we?re focused on our fight.”
