LOS ANGELES–Manny Pacquiao looked good sparring for 10 rounds and three sparring partners for the first time as Fan Day Saturday continued to attract larger numbers at the Wild Card gym here.
Pacquiao gave a huge and predominantly Filipino crowd something to cheer about as he clowned around with big man James “Lights Out” Toney and made sparring partners look like stuntmen doing their class act of taking punishment.
While Tijuana native Erik Morales continued to train in secrecy in the mountains of Mexico City for his megafight match-up with the pride of General Santos City on March 19, Pacquiao made no secret about his preparedness with still five weeks left.
Pacquiao was once again in a zone, doing the same damage to Raymundo Beltran in the first four rounds, halting action after releasing a torrent of punches that threw his Mexican opponent out of the top rope even as he allowed himself to take punishment.
For another four rounds Pacquiao stepped up the tempo against Ugandan Justin Juuko, showing no signs of fatigue as he continued to put pressure while taking instructions from Fredie Roach and Buboy Fernandez.
“Are you alright?” asked Pacquiao, after a thunderous left landed to end round seven, even as Toney asked Juuko to give his all, reminding him of “bumaye,” reminiscent of Ali in Zaire in the 70s, eliciting grins and guffaws from the crowd.
Juuko, who has a 39-8-1 win-loss-draw record, is no patsy having faced big-name fighters like Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, Carlos “Famoso” Hernandez and Diego Corrales in the past but still, the Pacman gobbled everything in his path.
Pacquiao even allowed Juuko to deliver 12 free punches to the body with gusto in the eighth round even as he finished his session with a solid body counter-punch that merited oohs and aahs.
In his last two rounds with speedster and bantam Jorge Diaz, Pacquiao showed staying power and stamina by chasing his Mexican opponent around, firing a left and right simutaneously to the ear, once again earning smiles and laughter from the crowd.
“I feel good and everything is under control. I know Erik Morales will come in prepared that is why I am training hard for this fight,” said Pacquiao, who has now logged in 54 rounds of sparring.
