BAGUIO CITY (Updated 12:07 p.m.) — Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has denied reports that he is ?complacent and overconfident? over his fight with junior welterweight Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 9.
The 33-year-old fighting Sarangani congressman said he will be in Baguio City on Tuesday to train with chief trainer Freddie Roach before winding up at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood in early May.
Pacquiao, who opened Monday his training camp in the summer capital for a four-week grind in preparation for his June fight, denied being overconfident, saying he had even worked out during the Holy Week, except on Good Friday.
Roach is already in Baguio a week earlier with former junior welterweight titleholder British fighter Amir Khan, who will be preparing for his rematch with Lamont Peterson on May 19.
Pacquiao?s camp will be preparing the lawmaker cum slugger to get back to his hard-punching ways against Bradley who has not had a knockout victory since demolishing Miguel Cotto via a 12th round technical knockout in 2009.
Pacquiao said that for the past two weeks, his focus has spent on the training besides his bible-preaching engagements and time spent with his family during the Holy Week.
He had his trainings earlier in Laguna and General Santos City, where the regimen included rounds of mitts under the supervision of assistant trainer and boyhood friend, Buboy Fernandez, and Nonoy Neri.
Russian welterweight prospect Ruslan Provodnikov is expected to be in Manila on April 24 from Beryozovo, Siberia, and will proceed to Baguio to spar with Pacquiao.
Provodnikov, who owns an impressive 21-0 record with 14 knockouts, will also be preparing for his fight early June.
At least three sparring partners will be brought in for the duration of the camp.
Meanwhile, the Baguio City Police office has earlier assured the People?s champ and his entourage security as soon as they arrive in the Summer Capital.
This will be the fourth time Pacquiao will train in Baguio City since opening camp in 2009 where he fought Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto, returned for training for Antonio Margarito in 2010 and prepared for three weeks against arch nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez.
