Manny Pacquiao never ceases to amaze his trainer Freddie Roach.
“I like where he is right now,” said Roach yesterday (Sunday night in the US) when asked to assess the progress of Pacquiao?s training for his bout against World Boxing Council lightweight king David Diaz on June 28 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao has only been training under Roach for less than two weeks and despite the fighter?s seemingly-late arrival for training camp, Roach is satisfied with what he had seen in regular gym days and even during days when there are sparring sessions.
“I am pleased,” said Roach.
Pacquiao always works extra-hard in training whenever he is in town for a fight, according to Roach, who has lined up four sparring partners this week which will see Pacquiao spar on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Roach had to make changes in the schedule for sparring so it won?t be disrupted by the promotional tour in the Bay Area penciled this Saturday.
So far, Pacquiao has sparred with super-lightweight Carlos Tarango, a Filipino-Puerto Rican according to Los Angeles-based orthodontist Ed Dela Vega, Mexican-American lightweight Steve Quinones and British welter Gary McMillan for a total of 20 rounds.
Roach said another big fellow, welter Ramiro Cano, also known as Rambo, will plane in Monday from Houston, Texas, to help in the sparring.
Pacquiao weighs around 140-something and he plans to trim down to under 140 lbs by the end of the week in line with a weight check that will be conducted by the WBC 30 days before the title match.
Meanwhile, Diaz is also in the thick of things up in Chicago.
Aware of the huge odds, Diaz admits he has to work extra hard at the JABB Gym.
“We have to pick it up another notch because Manny Pacquiao is so fast,” said Diaz over DZSR yesterday.
Asked what adjustments he needs to make to cope with Pacquiao?s speed, Diaz just said that giving more attention and time to training is the answer.
“We are not changing anything and my style of fighting works for me so why would I change it and why would I be something else that I know I am not,” said Diaz, who is known for non-stop aggression from start to finish.
Pressed to comment on what he intends to do come fight night, Diaz was direct to the point.
“Sorry guys, I had to keep my belt and I plan to become champion for a long time.”
