Manny Pacquiao won’t be training at Freddie Roach’s Wildcard Gym in Hollywood, California for his upcoming showdown with Brandon Rios on Nov. 24 in Macau, China. Roach, who has trained Pacquiao for over a decade, said the eight-division champion will be training in the Philippines for six weeks and another two weeks in Macau, China. The hall of fame trainer did not say if Pacquiao will train in Baguio City, his usual training camp for many years or in his hometown of General Santos City. Pacquiao is coming off a devastating loss to long-time foe Juan Manuel Marquez last December at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada while Rios lost in a rematch against Mike Alvarado last month. Read more: The fighting congressman is winding up his political engagements right after the May 13 elections to concentrate on his preparation for the upcoming fight with Rios. Pacquiao, who is running unopposed for reelection as the lone representative of Sarangani province in congress, is helping in the election campaign of his wife Jinkee, who is running for vice-governor of Sarangani. In previous training camps, Roach has complained that too many distractions during Pacquiao’s training, have contributed to Pacquiao’s poor performance particularly in his most recent fights. There are unconfirmed reports that Pacquiao will be training General Santos City instead of his usual Baguio training camp. If Pacquiao is indeed training in his hometown of General Santos or in Sarangani, he will likely get more distractions from his constituents who elected him to his post. Training experts say that Baguio is still the best training camp for Pacquiao. The city is an ideal training ground because of its high altitude and cool weather. Roach and Pacquiao’s conditioning coach Alex Ariza have not complained about the camp and the weather in the mountain city. By the time Pacquiao returns to the ring on Nov. 24, he would have spent almost a year of inactivity from the time he fought Juan Manuel Marquez last December. His long period of rest also requires a longer period of training. Like his potential opponent Floyd Mayweather, who was also inactive for a year, Pacquiao needs to shake off some of the ring rusts that may have accumulated during the period.of inactivity. A third successive loss will be too much for Pacquiao to bear and could signal the end of his career. Thus, a longer physical conditioning and a well rehearsed training camp is necessary for the comebacking Filipino star.
