MANILA, Philippines – The first few days of training at the Wild Card Gym has taken an early toll on Manny Pacquiao.
But the reigning pound-for-pound champion isn?t complaining.
?I know the pain is just temporary,? said Pacquiao yesterday through his regular column that comes out of philboxing.com.
Pacquiao marked Day One of his training for the May 2 fight with Ricky Hatton last Wednesday. It?s the usual two-hour routine that just got tougher each day.
?I?m not Superman, and in the first week of training under Freddie Roach I felt pain in my body. Maybe we got a little too hard at the start,? said Pacquiao from Los Angeles.
And it won?t get easier especially when sparring begins on March 17.
However, he said all?s well in the first of eight weeks of training. The other day he said he was feeling well after doing eight rounds of mitts with his American trainer.
?We?re off to a good start. And I can still feel the hunger for the bigger prize in boxing,? said Pacquiao, who was in the UK last week for a whirlwind promo tour.
Unconfirmed reports from inside the Pacquiao camp said the Filipino icon is already a shade under 150 pounds and is so glad to enjoy anything, everything on the dinner table.
Hatton, on the other hand, looked heavier than he should be when he came face to face with Pacquiao in Manchester and in London. The British superstar has the reputation of bloating himself in between fights.
The fight is pegged at 140 pounds, and Hatton?s IBO light-welterweight title will be at stake.
Pacquiao will have to go down in weight after facing and knocking out Oscar dela Hoya at 147 pounds last December. Last March he fought Juan Manuel Marquez at 135 and in June he faced David Diaz at 135.
Pacquiao won all three matches, and is favored to win this one against Hatton.
