MANNY PACQUIAO is ready to go.
This was the assessment of his handlers, trainer and Pacquiao himself after the fighter’s last heavy workout on Friday before facing Oscar Larios on July 2 in the headliner of the “Mano-a-Mano” boxing program at the Araneta Coliseum.
“Manny was simply phenomenal today. He’s ready to go. I think he has shaken off the jet lag,” said Nick Khan, one of Pacquiao’s American handlers who witnessed his fourth straight day of training, which was held behind closed doors at the ABAP gym inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate, Manila.
With an 11 a.m. curtain call on fight day, Pacquiao and Roach have been up and about by around 4 a.m. the last two days, helping the fighter overcome the jet lag since they arrived early Tuesday from the United States, Khan said.
“They [Pacquiao and Roach] were awake by 4:30 a.m. on Thursday and 4 a.m. today, allowing Manny to shake off the sluggishness from the jet lag,” Khan added.
“He’s no longer sluggish. Manny was able to do what I wanted him to do, hit were I wanted him to hit. Whatever I told him to do, he did it,” Roach said. “The game plan is in place. All we need to do is execute it.”
“We were able to work on his body shots and his right hook. He’s ready to perform. We ended up on a strong note,” he said.
Even Pacquiao, who looked grim the previous days, was smiling a lot as he cooled down after sparring with Russian boxer Rustom Nugaev and hitting the mitts with Roach.
Press photographers were not allowed to take photos of the sparring session on Roach’s orders. Unlike the past sparring sessions, Pacquiao’s punches were sharp, solid and crisp against the lanky Russian pug, who mimicked the style of Larios as he slugged it out with the Filipino boxing hero.
There were times that Pacquiao would allow himself to be tied up against the ropes, before unleashing a barrage of punches that would force Nugaev to retreat. They also went toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring.
In the last two sparring rounds, Pacquiao would often throw a flurry of five to six combinations at close range then weave out of the way.
Roach said the reason they picked Nugaev, who is being paid $500 a week as the stand-in for Pacquiao’s Mexican rival, was because he “punches faster, stronger and better than Larios.”
“Manny can take him [Nugaev] so he can certainly take on Larios.”
In his stint with the punching mitts with Roach, Pacquiao’s blows were just as hard—the sound of leather connecting reverberating like a gunshot inside the gym.
Still smiling after the workout, Pacquiao, however, declined to say if he would be able to knock out Larios, who is set to arrive with his trainer Edison Reynoso and adviser Rafael Molina on Sunday.
“Mahirap magsalita ng tapos. Kung ma-knockout ko si Oscar, bonus na ‘yon. [It’s hard to say. If I am able to knock out Oscar, that’s a bonus],” he said.
Pacquiao added that he wasn’t event looking ahead to his third match with Erik Morales. “I’m very focused on this coming fight. Only after Larios will I think of Morales.”
