THE PHONE just wouldn’t stop ringing. It rings as soon as he wakes up to prepare for his morning jog. It rings while he jogs. It rings while he eats and also while he rests. Worse, it rattles him in the middle of the night.
So what did Manny Pacquiao do? No, he did not destroy his expensive cellphones. He merely entrusted it to an aide and bought another – with a new number known only to a few.
Since then, it has been peace and quiet. And also, it has made him more focused on his training on which he already is far behind schedule because of his late arrival at the Wild Card gym in Los Angeles.
Pacquiao turned over his two cellular phones to his adviser Joe Ramos to take away one more distraction as he prepares for his fight on Sept 10. against Hector Velazquez at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
According to Ramos, Pacquiao was compelled to surrender the phones since “there have been numerous calls even at night asking the boxer for tickets, plane fares and other favors.”
After he was edged out by Erik Morales in a bloody encounter last March in Las Vegas, Pacquiao blamed “distractions” for his loss.
Besides shelling out airfare and fight tickets for some friends, Pacquiao’s apartment leading to his mega fight was crowded with hangers-on.
To avoid another circus-like atmosphere, Pacquiao’s American handlers are making sure that everything is in order as he enters the homestretch of his training.
Pacquiao’s gym work —1 p.m. to 3 p.m. — is closed to the public. Even select friends, who used to enter anytime, are barred from his two-bedroom apartment at The Palazzo. The only ones with access are his childhood friend Buboy Fernandez, who serves as his training assistant, former fighter Gerry Balagbagan and the boxer’s friend Clem Asencio, are staying with him there.
Trainer Freddie Roach said the gym will be closed until the last training day of Pacquiao although Ramos said they are planning to hold a public workout on Aug. 31.
Pacquiao is co-headlining the promotion with Morales, who goes up against Zahir Raheem in the other scheduled 12 rounder.
Top Rank Inc., which is putting up the Morales-Raheem, Pacquiao-Velazquez headliner dubbed “Double Trouble,” is eyeing to pit Morales against Pacquiao in a rematch sometime early next year, assuming of course that both will beat their respective dangerous opponents.
Tickets to the slugfest to be shown on HBO, are priced at $300, $200, $100, $50, and $25.
