Manny Pacquiao was impressive as he sparred 12 rounds against three different boxers yesterday (Saturday in Los Angeles), and next week he should start tapering off for his fast-approaching ?Dream Match? with Oscar dela Hoya.
?It was great. He was great,? said trainer Freddie Roach just 12 days before the fight.
Roach was about to close his Wild Card Gym, walk back home and watch with much interest the Ricky Hatton-Paul Malignaggi fight when he was reached by The STAR through his cellphone.
Roach and Pacquiao both want Hatton next after Dela Hoya. The pride of Manchester had also expressed interest in fighting the winner of the Dec. 6 ?Dream Match.?
Pacquiao has now logged a total of 131 rounds of sparring against boxers who fight like Dela Hoya, stand like Dela Hoya at 5?10 1/2 and weigh like Dela Hoya at around 150 to 160 pounds.
Roach said they only have four sparring days left.
?On Tuesday we?ll do 10 rounds, then on Thursday eight and on Saturday we?ll go six,? said Roach, adding that on the day Pacquiao leaves for Las Vegas, on Dec. 1, the Filipino superstar will cap his sparring with four rounds.
Roach said Pacquiao is ready to go 12 rounds with Dela Hoya in their 12-round, 147-pound contest, but said there?s really no need to do that.
?Because we?ll knock him (Dela Hoya) out anyway,? Roach said.
For a change, Pacquiao and his large entourage will travel to Sin City on board a fancy bus adorned with Pacquiao?s images. It can carry 30 persons.
Roach told sportinglife.com the other day he?d never seen Pacquiao look as a complete fighter as before.
?I have never seen Manny look better. He is as close to a complete fighter as he has ever been. His speed, footwork and stamina are supreme. But it?s his power that has surpassed anything I could have hoped for,? Roach was quoted.
?Manny is ready to fight a full three minutes of every round for as many rounds this fight goes. Oscar may look the part of a welterweight fighter by dieting down to a Twiggy 145 pounds, but that doesn?t mean he can pull the trigger at his age and act the part of a welterweight fighter.
?Not against a Manny Pacquiao. Oscar will be carrying a suitcase full of blues when he enters his golden years of retirement as a fighter on December 6. But at least he?ll look fit and trim in his designer business suits,? the American trainer added.
