VETERAN cornerman Lito Mondejar yesterday said that Manny Pacquiao is beginning to get back into his old fighting form after a layoff of several months. The General Santos City lefty took his training to another level yesterday when he sparred two rounds each with three different punchers at the Almendras Gym in Davao.
Pacquiao is revving up for a rematch with Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez on Feb. 26 in Las Vegas when he slugs it out with Thai Fahsan 3K Battery Dec. 11 at The Fort in Taguig, Metro Manila.
Today, Pacquiao is expected to raise the number of sparring rounds to 16 as he works out anew with Fernando Montilla, Christopher Saluday and Arnel Porras.
“Manny is slowly showing the moves that we, as cornermen, want to see when he trains,?? said Mondejar, who assists in the cornerwork alongside Buboy Fernandez and a couple of other trainers.
Lead trainer Freddie Roach is said to be arriving as well as Puerto Rican cutman Lenny de Jesus, who has been a member of the Filipino?s entourage since last year.
Pacquiao hasn?t seen action since being held to a 12-round split draw by Marquez on May 8 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
While Pacquiao has been inactive the last eight months, this is not the case with Marquez, who returned to action in September when he went 12 rounds against Orlando Salido underneath the Bernard Hopkins – Oscar dela Hoya world middleweight headliner.
Assuming Pacquiao disposes of 3K Battery with relative ease, he is expected to fly to Los Angeles in the first week of January to begin training with Roach at the Wild Card Gym.
Promoter Bob Arum is expected to formally announce about the much-awaited return meeting anytime soon. The MGM and the Mandalay are being eyed to stage the bout that will stake Marquez?s World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation titles.
