MANNY PACQUIAO refuses to say how long rival Oscar Larios would last when they square off on July 2 although it seems that he doesn’t have any intention of staying on top of the ring for 12 rounds.
Instead of taking a breather after a 16-hour flight from Los Angeles, Pacquiao reported for light training at noon yesterday and expressed his readiness to deal with the touted Mexican slugger at the Araneta Coliseum.
“I know that Larios has got what it takes and being a former world champion, I am not underestimating his skills,” said Pacquiao, who spent a little over a month training at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood before heading back home to a rousing welcome at the Centennial Airport.
“But I will be ready for whatever he brings to the ring,” said Pacquiao, whose workout was made up of punch mitt routine, speedball, shadowboxing and calisthenics in front of his American and local handlers, mediamen and a sprinkling of police officers who stood on guard.
Pressed for a prediction after his close to two-hour workout, Pacquiao did not bite but came out with an amusing answer when told about the fight going as far as six rounds.
“Six rounds? That’s too long and I might get tired (if the fight reaches the sixth round),” said Pacquiao, whose training tapers off at the end of the week.
Pacquiao hardly showed the effects of the back-breaking trip although he admitted to feeling groggy since he hardly slept during the 12-hour flight.
What made it even worse was that Pacquiao even sparred for 10 rounds on the day he flew out of Los Angeles and racked up 12 rounds two days earlier.
While his prized pupil declined to make a prediction, long-time trainer Freddie Roach said he doesn’t see Larios going past six rounds.
“It will end within six rounds,” said Roach after supervising yesterday’s workout at the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines gym inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex (RMSC).
Roach plans to hold a closed-door workout beginning at 11 a.m. today as Pacquiao spars with rangy Russian lightweight Rustam Nugaev for eight rounds but would still have to wake up at 5 a.m. to jog either along Roxas Boulevard or the Rizal Memorial track oval.
By the time Roach orders a halt to the sparring session sometime early next week, Pacquiao would have already logged almost 100 rounds of sparring.
Pacquiao, 27, has been given a suite at The Manila Hotel and he plans to stay there until two days before the fight owing to its proximity to the RMSC.
Joining him at the historic hotel are Roach and enforcer Rob Peters, the shaven-skulled fellow who keeps away kibitzers from distracting Pacquiao’s training at the Wild Card.
Pacquiao’s chief handler Shelly Finkel and lawyer Nicholas Khan and Los Angeles-based adviser Joe Ramos are billeted at The Diamond Hotel.
Larios, 29, meanwhile, continues to train diligently at the Teiken Gym in Tokyo and is scheduled to arrive in Manila on Sunday.
