JUST like his next bout, there will be a third encounter between Manny Pacquiao and Baguio City.
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion will once again hit the city by storm, literary and figuratively, as the Summer Capital still expects several typhoons during the month of September.
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Pacquiao?s preparation for his third bout with Mexican champion Juan Manuel Marquez starts third week of September for the initial phase of his two-month training regimen.
Boxing trainer Freddie Roach and physical conditioning expert Alex Ariza will once again be in the fold for the eight-weight class division champion before moving to the US for the final phase of their training.
Roach is expected to arrive in the country September 19 to start Pacquiao?s training camp and will return to the US with the Filipino boxing icon on October 7 to continue the training program at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California.
Ariza is expected to arrive earlier to prepare Pacquiao before the start of the tough training schedule.
The Summer Capital has become a permanent part of the Pacman?s training attributed by the cool climate and the high altitude, which have contributed to his excellent physical conditioning.
Jorge Linares, the 25-year-old Venezuelan lightweight, will join Roach in the Philippines and will be Pacquiao?s main sparring partner during the duration of the Baguio buildup.
Linares is in the gym getting ready to face southpaw Antonio DeMarco of Mexico on Oct. 15 in Los Angeles for the vacant World Boxing Council lightweight title.
This third fight according to experts is expected to have a different ending after the first fight went to a draw while the second had it for Pacquiao via a split.
Published in the Sun.Star Baguio newspaper on August 23, 2011.
