LOS ANGELES-The “Wanted: Sparring Partners” sign at the Wild Card gym might be reposted soon as Manny Pacquiao might be needing extra sparring partners later on after he nicked and nipped “Sugar” Raymundo Beltran in three rounds Tuesday here.
Right on the opening round, Pacquiao’s vaunted left straight inflicted a nasty bruise on Beltran’s right eyelid.
The 26-year-old Pacquiao had to play it cautious from thereon, cruising to finish two more rounds against the crafty Mexican fighter as he builds momentum towards his March 29 fight with Erik Morales at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“I had to slow down a bit because I felt my left hand hit his eye socket,” said Pacquiao, who momentarily stopped action after the first round to check on Beltran’s bruise.
Last year, when he started sparring sessions to train for his fight against Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao also bruised the ribcage of Armenian Kahren Harutyunyan forcing chief trainer Freddie Roach to look for substitute sparring partners.
“Manny could have stopped his opponent in the first or second round if it were a real bout,” said a certain Rita, a lady boxer who also trains at the Wild Card gym.
Beltran, who campaigns in the heavier super-featherweight division, is no patsy, having won his 11 straight and has a 16-2 (8 KOs) record. But still, Pacquiao simply overwhelmed him with a wide assortment of combinations.
Pacquiao has started to immerse himself in serious preparation for his non-title, pay-per-view fight with Morales even as he is enjoying a vacation with his wife Jinkee and eldest son Emmanuel Jr.
The Pacquiao family went to church, then frolicked the whole day Sunday in Disneyland even as the “People’s Champion” played some pool, chess, guitar and poker sparingly the previous days to relax and ready himself for his toughest opponent yet.
“I want to be in the best shape of my life when I get the chance to fight Morales and I am very excited about it,” said Pacquiao.
“Ito na iyong pinapangarap ko at ng aking team, iyong lumaban sa pay-per-view. Kaya naman hindi ako magpapabaya sa laban na ito,” added Pacquiao.
