Not even the rains could stop Manny Pacquiao from training.
In his fourth week of buildup for the keenly awaited rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera, the 28-year-old boxer ran under the rain yesterday in an uphill course in Alta Vista in Cebu City, accompanied by his Mexican sparring partners.
Pacquiao, who faces Barrera on Oct. 6 in Las Vegas, would have opted to skip his daily run because of the rain, and settle for longer minutes on the treadmill.
“But Manny said ‘no’ and that he wanted to take on the uphill course despite the rains. Then Freddie said ‘go’ and Manny went ahead,” said his chief-of-staff Jake Joson.
Pacquiao, with sparring partners David Rodela and Ray Beltran, covered the difficult uphill course in only 24 minutes, a little faster than when he started training in Cebu a month ago.
Pacquiao just got to the drop-off point when the rain started to pour. But instead of turning back, he insisted on moving on. He had a bonnet and a jacket on with shorts and running shoes.
Later in the afternoon, Pacquiao trooped to the Rex “Wakee” Salud gym for a two-hour workout. He resumes sparring today. In 10 sessions, he has logged no less than 57 rounds.
Just last week, Pacquiao went down with the flu, skipping one sparring session, but recovering just after two days of rest and medication. He was in Manila over the weekend.
Pacquiao, who probably trains like no other athlete, has showed plenty of signs in his readiness to deal Barrera another loss. The first time they met in 2003, the Filipino scored a knockout in the 11th round.
