LOS ANGELES — There is a big possibility Marco Antonio Barrera will do everything to avoid an early knockout, so Manny Pacquiao perfected a sneaky liver shot, launched and capped with blinding rat-tat-tat right shots, in a non-stop 14-round punching drill that dramatically plugged all possible escape routes of the legendary Mexican warrior here Tuesday.
There was already a crowd in Pacquiao?s first official gym workout here since arriving Saturday night from his training stint in Cebu, but the anticipated sparring session was instead rescheduled for Wednesday
The awesome display of power, speed and sharpness came in a breathtaking non-stop drill with the mitts inside the ring, spread over the same length of time it takes to propel him on a jet flight from Manila to his hometown General Santos City or nearby Mindanao.
Big bombs
The execution was purely imaginary, the big bombs reverberating far and wide — maybe all the way to the secluded Barrera workplace in Guadalajara — and the few Mexicans in the 60-strong horde at Wild Card could only smile wryly and shake their heads in awe.
The liver shot, brought into the open here for the first time, was a paralyzing replica of the left dagger to the rib cage used by Gerry Pe?alosa in stopping world super bantamweight king Jhonny Gonzales in Sacramento early last month, but delivered by Pacquiao with a flashing right hook.
After the no-break punching drill that had a tired but visibly pleased Freddie Roach on the receiving end, Pacquiao did another full hour of assorted drills, capped by a neophyte session on the floor that surprisingly included the use of weights, as prescribed by a Roach gym deputy.
However, this amateurish portion was mercifully scrapped after less than 10 minutes on the suggestion of Roach assistant Buboy Fernandez, who insisted the use of iron this late could result in strain and severely disrupt hard-earned rhythm and speed.
Full morning run
Actually, Pacquiao Tuesday was supposed to do only a short jog, limber up in the park close to his apartment. But he opted to take a full morning run through the trying Griffith Park terrain with Rodel Mayol, whom he?s helping to repackage here.
Pacquiao covered the hilly terrain in only 45 minutes, three minutes faster at this point in previous training here.
?Our plan? We?ll knock him out earlier,? Roach told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net), a plot he had to reconfirm following silly rumors of a dive and a rubber match.
All in all, Tuesday?s Pacquiao regimen lasted a full 30 rounds, with Pacquiao still oozing with vigor when he reluctantly agreed to call it a day.
He had the usual shower and rub-down, then repaired to the gym counter where he gladly accommodated admirers, signing mementos and posing for photographs.
Roach no longer had to explain why he allowed Pacquiao to refuse the usual minute-break in between the training rounds.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, was unusually quiet although he earlier told a television man from Manila about that famous Joe Frazier adage that nobody could help or save a boxer inside the ring except himself.
