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PACQUIAO TRAINING CAMP – UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Sun, 09 Sep 2007  After a somewhat turbulent start to his preparation for the much awaited rematch with Mexican icon Marco Antonio Barrera – a certified Hall-of-Fame candidate – Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao has re-established sanity and good sense in his training camp and as of our last visit to Cebu City, everything is in focus. While one must give Manny much of the credit for stabilizing the atmosphere around him, two other individuals surely deserve acclaim for what they have done to make things easier for the incredible ring warrior who is, to millions of Filipinos, a national treasure. The first is Pacquiao’s charming wife Jinkee who suffered through a spell of malicious gossip that linked her husband to sexy actress Ara Mina, Manny’s co-star in a movie he reportedly funded – Anak ni Kumander – and celebrated trainer Freddie Roach whose obvious affection for Pacquiao has been reciprocated with remarkable respect. When Pacquiao scuttled plans to drive to Sacramento, California to act as captain of the Philippine Team that battled Mexico in the 2nd World Cup and decided to suddenly pack his bags and return home to Manila, it was purely because of what was characterized as “a personal problem” and had nothing to do with a reported falling out with Roach although there have been consistent insidious efforts by one or two individuals with dubious interests to drive a wedge between boxer and trainer. Jinkee was obviously pained – like any wife would be – over showbiz gossip that thrived on rumors of a Manny-Ara liaison which, as far as we were able to discern, was nothing more than an attempt to promote the movie they were making and perhaps to some extent Ara Mina’s own interests. As one diehard Pacquiao fan remarked, “she is using Manny to project herself and get ahead.” Jinkee has, through the years, been a level-headed woman and a caring wife. But like we told Pacquiao in a private conversation at Rod Nazario’s Wild Card Gym in BF Homes, Paranaque shortly after he returned home after the press conference at the Beverly Hills Hotel formally announcing the fight with Barrera, he had to consider the hurt inflicted on her by mindless rumors and people who bother her with mean text messages, phone calls and pointed questions. He understood even as he made it clear that the stories were baseless and untrue. In fact Pacquiao was visibly annoyed saying he felt “sad because Ara Mina has been dragged into this. I feel ashamed and I have not even spoken to her. It's not right. We are only making a movie together and to think otherwise is unfair to the lady.” Indeed, Pacquiao had stopped filming because he said he wanted to “concentrate on training” adding that he would “do whatever needs to be done to win for the sake of our country.” Pacquiao also made the point that he and Roach had a “strategy for training here.” As he correctly pointed out the Wild Card Gym is crowded with many people and he was concerned that “fans of Barrera may spy on my style and people from the Barrera camp may be there under disguise and study our fight plans.” Come to think of it, that wasn’t far-fetched. Roach himself had a run-in with some miscellaneous characters who clandestinely shot footage of Manny sparring despite being told not to. The result was that the spanking new gym of Pacquiao’s close friend and confidant Rex “Wakee” Salud which was crowded with people on the first two days of training which bothered Roach and distracted Manny, was closed to fans after that. Roach threatened to pack his bags and go home even if Pacquiao didn’t join him because he was terribly upset over the lack of security and feared that Manny’s training would suffer. Salud immediately called a conference among his people and some members of Team Pacquiao and installed tight security which pleased Roach and clearly enabled Manny to train in peace and stay focused. It was also certainly helpful that after some coaxing Jinkee began to ease up and realize that the stories floated by sometimes irresponsible elements in media were designed to help sell newspapers and to promote the movie. She decided, after a couple of days, to visit Cebu along with their lovely little daughter Mary Divine Grace who turns one on October 1. Jinkee told us that she didn’t want to take the little girl but that Manny had insisted. We were on the same Philippine Airlines flight to Cebu and had an interesting conversation during the flight. Pacquiao was at the airport to pick up his wife. The following day Manny worked out at gym with Jinkee seated on the apron of an adjoining ring and watching intently while their daughter cheered and called out “Papa! Papa!” while looking at her father with childlike wonder as he peppered the punch-mitts until Roach’s solidly built upper arms ached. 
Pacquiao plays basketball at the Cebu City Sports Club. Photo by Dennis Principe. 
The crowd came into the RWS gym early in the training. 
Pacquiao spars with David Rodela. 
Jinky and daughter Princess at Pacquiao's training camp. Pacquiao demonstrated his affection for his wife by giving her a surprise gift of a fabulous diamond ring to go with a pair of diamond earrings he had given her in the past. She told us, “he’s always like that and he makes me very happy.” Jinkee showed absolutely no hint of any rift in their home emphasizing that Manny was “a loving husband and father who loves their daughter and two sons.” Jinkee was beaming and confessed she was “very happy” saying “I’m always like that.” In a more serious tone she said Manny was “focused, his condition is good and I’m happy for him.” She added “its nice here in Cebu, his training is good.” She reflected what Roach has consistently told us – "once you get Manny focused there is no better athlete in the world. Once he gets into training mode there is nobody better I've ever had. His work ethic is great." Just when everything was going well Pacquiao came down with the flu. It was last Friday. He bucked a fever, cold and headache to run on the flatland of the IT Park in front of the Waterfront Hotel where Team Pacquiao was staying but once he got back to his suite he felt worse forcing his chief-of-staff Jake Joson to call Dr. Hans Potot to check out the fighter. Dr. Potot said Manny had a 38 degree fever, a cold and body malaise which was caused by a viral infection that was apparently sweeping Cebu at that time. The first to get hit was Pacquiao’s Mexican sparring partners Raymund Beltran and David Rodela. Roach said Pacquiao probably caught it from them. The doctors instructions were specific. He wanted Manny to rest for two days, drink plenty of fluids, take a paracetamol tablet every four hours and limit the number of people he came into contact with. Dr. Potot ruled out plans for Pacquiao to fly to Manila on a private plane to appear on a GMA 7 entertainment show on Sunday while Roach insisted there was no way he would let him go. In the end Pacquiao himself decided it was too risky to ignore doctor’s orders. But he did that Sunday. Dr. Potot had okayed a walk around the hotel and while Roach was standing by in his room waiting for a call from Manny informing him he was ready to go for a walk, the phone didn’t ring. When we checked with Roach at 10:00 a.m.he said Pacquiao was still sleeping – that’s what he thought!. Feeling better and driven by the urge to play some hoops, Pacquiao sneaked out of the Waterfront Hotel and motored to the Cebu City Sports Complex where he played a game of basketball against the Cebu media. When we informed Roach about what he’d done he immediately went up to Manny’s suite to check. Pacquiao claimed he "only ran up and down the court.” We told Roach that if you play basketball you’ve got to run up and down the court. One thing more - while Pacquiao was supposedly running up and down the court he managed to score 30 points! When dawn broke last Monday, Pacquiao did his roadwork at the IT Park since Roach whose care and concern for Pacquiao is remarkable didn't want to push him too hard by doing the killer uphill run at the Alta Vista subdivision since Manny was just recovering from a bout with the flu and he didnt want him to get a relapse. In the afternoon Roach's plan was for Manny to spar perhaps three rounds as he appeared unaffected by the previous day's basketball game. But eager to get back into top shape, Pacquiao went six rounds with Raymund Beltran and Filipino Arnel Tinampay. After the workout Roach said "we've had a good day and the sparring was pretty good. Manny is feeling a lot better." But despite Roach's assurances the esteemed WBC president Jose Sulaiman was worried - about the crowded gym that distracted Manny during training and exasperated Roach and his illness over the weekend. Sulaiman made it clear that his worry stemmed from the reality that "boxing needs Pacquiao" because while Floyd Mayweather is the best pound-for-pound as a boxer, Pacquiao was undeniably the best pound-for-pound "in excitement, passion, tension and aggressiveness." In a way Mexican sparring partner David Rodela, a promising lightweight put our collective concerns to rest after Pacquiao's brief illness just as Roach did when he told us they were "slightly ahead" of schedule so they didnt lose anything when Manny got ill. Often, Roach has had to hold Pacquiao back for fear that he may push himself too hard and overtrain or God forbid, get a relapse. But as Joson revealed things are tightening up both at the gym and in the hotel. There's a 9:00 p.m. curfew and the number of visitors who are allowed to see Manny has dwindled. The best affirmation of Pacquiao's condition at this point in his preparation for the October 6 showdown with Barrera came from Mexican sparring partners Rodela and Beltran who are in the ring with Manny and can see the speed and feel the power. Rodela told Viva Sports/Viva Prime for its two-part special on Pacquiao-Barrera II titled "Repeat or Revenge" presented by Tanduay, the No.1 Rhum, Pagcor and PCSO, that Pacquiao is “just too strong, too fast and too young” for Barrera and he believes “nobody can beat Manny right now.” Rodela said clearing the RWS Gym of crowds who disrupted Pacquiao’s training as well as his focus early on, helped Manny “look very comfortable now that here are not too many people here. Not too much media, not too much pressure. He looks a lot more relaxed, more in the zone.” Rodela said despite the bout with the flu his condition is “really good and he looks strong” adding “he’s ready.” He said that at 28 Pacquiao “is in his prime and unbeatable and nobody is going to be able to beat him – not for a while.” The young Rodela said he felt that Barrera’s “time is done. I think he’s already finished. He’s too old and its time to retire.“ While maintaining that he was “not taking any credit away from Barrera” for all his achievements in the ring he believed “ it is time for Pacquiao to take over..” When asked about the vaunted punching power of Pacquiao and whether it was because of a combination of speed and power Rodela replied “all I know us it hurts when he hits me.” Beltran who has been a sparring partner of Pacquiao from the time he was preparing for the first fight in his epic trilogy with Erik “El Terrible” Morales that today Pacquiao “is stronger and smarter and has some better moves. He is more confident now and his defense is much better.” After an extensive session on Thursday afternoon where Roach and Pacquiao went through some new tactics, Beltran predicted Barrera will last “maybe six or eight rounds because Barrera will try to box and move around.” However, Beltran figured Pacquiao will catch up with him and rounds “nine, ten and eleven, if it goes that long, will be even more dangerous for Barrera because he gets tired after eight rounds while Manny is stronger” due to his great conditioning. Asked whether Pacquiao’s vaunted punching power is accentuated by his quickness Beltran said “no man he really hits hard man. Some guys have speed but they have no power at all. Manny;’s got speed and he’s got power. That’s why he’s been knocking people out – Barrera, Morales and had Juan Manuel Marquez down three times in the first round. A lot of good fighters. He really has power.” Beltran noted that all great fighters including Oscar De La Hoya train hard but in the closing rounds slow down. “Not Pacquiao” said Beltran. “He is like a child who never loses his energy. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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