IT?S 7.30am in Griffith Park in Los Angeles and the observatory looking out upon the sprawling city of angels on the edge of Mount Hollywood looks like a scene out of a movie.
An eight-year-old Filipino with a ponytail in a plat and his hands wrapped like a fighter is shadow-boxing like a minituare version of Genghis Khan.
With the Hollywood sign situated within throwing distance, it would be easy to confuse the 100-plus crowd gathering as tourists looking for a happy snap of the iconic American landmark.
Wrong. The reason for the ever-growing throng of predominantly Filipinos is the imminent arrival of world champion boxer Manny Pacquiao, who is busy slaughtering his body around the Hollywood hills in preparation for his upcoming Fight of the Century against Floyd Mayweather.
The Pac Man and ?Money? Mayweather will meet in Las Vegas on May 2 in a fight rightfully being billed as the biggest thing in boxing since Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield went to war, complete with the infamous ear-biting incident, in the 1990s.
Promoters are predicting this fight could gross in excess of $390 million, smashing all sorts of records as the richest fight in boxing history.
The Sunday Telegraph was invited into Pacquiao?s inner-sanctum by the Australian connection in his camp, champion trainer Justin Fortune, who has been working in conjunction with boxing icon Freddie Roach for the best part of 12 years.
Manny Pacquiao waves the Philippines flag in the Hollywood Hills looking over Los Angeles.
As Pacquiao scales the mountains of Griffith Park, complete with warning signs about rattle snakes and an entourage decked out in Pac Man team paraphernalia running around him, Fortune is preparing to unleash torture at the Observatory.
When the world champion southpaw arrives, Fortune saloons him into an area complete with a dozen sit-up mats to begin the process of smashing out 1000 repetitions.
Fittingly, the eight-year-old Filipino with the ponytail, whose name is Cyrus, is invited into the session, gleefully training alongside his hero and a 12-strong entourage.
It?s a routine the Pac Man punishes himself through twice a day religiously, six-days-per-week, with Sunday the only day off in the lead-up to the Mayweather showdown.
Later on the same day at the famous Wild Card gym in Hollywood, Roach and Fortune are talking tactics and joking.
The dulcet thud of speed balls purring in the background symbolises the hardline phase of training Pacquiao is currently completing.
It?s less than three weeks until fight night and the Pac Man is exuding a confident energy, albeit minus the cocky swagger of his motor-mouth rival Mayweather.
Roach and Fortune have laid down the law, telling Pacquiao the time for talk is over.
While the Pac Man motions sliding a zip across his lips when asked questions, Roach is more than happy to call a spade a shovel, tellingUSA Today this week about how this fight holds extra significance for his star pupil?
Manny Pacquiao jogs at Griffith Park, Los Angeles as he trains ahead of his superfight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The reasoning? Pacquaio is a big anti-domestic violence campaigner while Mayweather?s record of seven incidents against five separate women saw him do two months inside a Nevada jail in 2012.
?We?ve changed the game plan a little bit because I think Mayweather?s getting a little bit older and his legs are a little bit gone,? Roach said.
?I don?t think he?s going to be able to run like he used to. I think he?s going to have to trade and fight with us a little bit more.
?Manny?s working extra hard, everybody is, there?s a lot of activity going on and long days but it will be well worth it.
?Manny told me a couple of days ago ?Freddie, no more press for me, you have to cover for me.?
Roach doesn?t disappoint, labelling the fight a classic example of ?good versus evil?.
?It?s black hat, white hat. One guys a great role model, the other guys throwing money around just flushing money around the toilet just doing disrespectful things I think,? Roach said.
?There?s a lot of poor people in the world and he just acts like an ass. He?s a bad guy and Manny?s going to beat him up for it.
?I don?t think he?s the greatest fighter in the world. He?s picked a lot of hand-picked opponents. He?s fought a couple of good guys but I?m not so impressed with him.
?I think Manny?s hand speed should be too much for him and the foot speed is going to really destroy him.
Manny Pacquiao runs along the trail at the Griffith Park.
?We did 12 rounds yesterday, we?re doing 14 rounds today, we?re working hard.?
On the opening day The Sunday Telegraph was invited in, the training day was interrupted when USADA?s drug testers randomly showed up to collect blood and urine samples.
It forced the champion fighter to postpone his pad-work session inorder to take a needle to draw blood.
Fortune and Roach confer and decide to cancel the session, reasoning the drug tests have thrown out the routine.
With Roach?s gym situated in Hollywood, there?s a rotisserie of A-list stars calling through to wish the Pac Man good luck against his arch-nemesis.
Mark Wahlberg dropped past earlier in the week, while in the 24 hours we were there Karl ?The Mail Man? Malone of NBA superstar fame and Hollywood actor Michael Rapaport both spend two hours inside laughing, joking and talking sport with Pacquiao, Roach and Fortune.
Tickets to the 16,800-seat arena at the MGM Grand in Vegas are yet to be released, with the cheapest tipped to go for around $10,000-a-pop and ringside to cost somewhere around the $85,000 mark.
It it hits the anticipated $390 million gross expected, Mayweather will pocket $156 million while Pacquiao will net a cool $104 million.
No wonder they?re calling it the fight of the century.
