LOS ANGELES — Manny Pacquiao won’t be here for at least another two hours, but there are already two dozen fans on the sun-splashed asphalt outside Hollywood’s Wild Card Boxing Club trying desperately to look like they’re not loitering.
Only four more days before the circus leaves town.
Here at the back of a horseshoe-shaped strip mall, past the Stop & Shop and up a perpendicular metal staircase, Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, is conducting business in what’s become the world’s most renowned gym. And business is booming.
It’s nine days before Pacquiao, the hard-hitting Filipino southpaw considered by many the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter, defends his WBO welterweight title against “Sugar” Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Pacquiao is a 9-to-1 favorite, eye-popping odds given Mosley’s world-class chin, thunderous right hand and Hall of Fame pedigree.
But Mosley is 39, fresh off a one-sided loss to Floyd Mayweather and a lackluster draw with Sergio Mora. And even more worryingly for the challenger, Roach is confident.
“He’s in as great shape as I’ve ever seen him,” says the four-time BWAA Trainer of the Year, before uttering the nine words no Pacquiao opponent ever wants to hear:
“We’ve got a great game plan for this guy.”
Pacquiao is just one of 10 fighters Roach is training at the Wild Card, a roll that includes WBA super lightweight champion Amir Khan, junior middleweight prospect Vanes Martirosyan and Bernabe Concepcion, the featherweight contender who’s fighting Juan Carlos Martinez on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights in Vegas one night before Pacquiao-Mosley. (“Probably a few too many,” admits Roach, who works six days a week, taking only Sundays off, “but business is good.”)
But Pac-Man is certainly the most important in Roach’s stable. The 32-year-old is so much more than just the first fighter to collect eight world championships in eight weight classes. He is a global phenomenon who sings, acts and was elected to Congress in the Philippines last May. He is the most socially important boxer since Muhammad Ali and perhaps the greatest boxer of the modern era. It’s been more than five years since he lost a fight.
Pacquiao typically splits training between the Philippine city of Baguio — where the high altitude promotes rich stamina — and here at the Wild Card. He spent just three weeks in Hollywood before his decisive but painful victory against Antonio Margarito in November, as political responsibilities compromised his attention. But the straight-shooting Roach is quick to insist that Pacquiao is wrapping up his best camp in years.
“He hit the ground running and looked great out of the gate,” Roach says. “He was doing eight rounds [on the mitts] immediately and he’s up to 16 rounds now. I’m starting to hold him back a little bit. The hardest part is slowing him down.”
Roach excuses himself and disappears momentarily. Within minutes he’s in the ring working the pads with Conception as Kanye West’s All of the Lights blasts from a boom box in the corner. By the time Roach finishes, Manny is a half-hour late. Told he had an interview that ran long, I ask for details from Roach, who looks at me like I have a large piece of food in my teeth.
“Is that his excuse?” he says with a laugh. “He’s f—ing sleeping.”
