LOS ANGELES ? While the duration of everything from his sparring sessions to the skipping rope routine have been cut to a certain number of minutes owing to the proximity of his faceoff with Ricky Hatton, there was no denying that the intensity level showed by Manny Pacquiao remains the same.
Pacquiao sparred five rounds,three rounds with Uzbek Alisher Rahimov and two rounds with David Rodela at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood on Saturday afternoon, but the Filipino star still exhibited the passion that has made him the world?s best fighter pound-for-pound today.
While he sometimes clowned around against his sparmates, there were many instances when Pacquiao?s face assumed the look of a madman or even a lion about to snap the neck of a pesky hyena.From shadowboxing in the ring and hitting either the double- end bag or the speedball, Pacquiao put a little extra to them as if telling his team and his supporters that he has everything all figured out.
Even without Freddie Roach around to supervise his training, Pacquiao did not only heed the orders of those who were given specific instructions but Pacquiao also made them feel that he is not the type to cut corners in preparing for a fight.
Adding the four rounds that he recently racked up, Pacquiao has now sparred a total of 145 rounds and by the time he leaves for Las Vegas on Monday, he would already have sparred a total of 149 rounds.
After banging bodies with Rahimov and Rodela, Pacquiao shadow-boxed and walked around the ring without his shirt, his body looking like it was carved from granite.
?Do I look small?? asked Pacquiao, flexing his muscles, obviously bewildered that some people are convinced that he will be dwarfed by Hatton come fight night.
The bout will have a weight limit of 140 lbs and the two fighters will have to tip the scales not heavier than 140 lbs on the eve of the scheduled 12-rounder.
Told that he is the overwhelming favorite, Pacquiao again looked amazed and said Hatton also has got a pair of hands like him.?I don?t know why a lot of people think I am the favored fighter. If this were a cockfight, it would be even because the other cock is also armed with a blade like me.?
Pacquiao would still continue to train in Sin City, possibly until Thursday, but it would all be light and easy since top trainer Freddie Roach would not allow Pacquiao to leave everything that he learned in training in the gym.
Disgrasya lamang ang talo ni Manny,? said businessman and boxing patron Rey Golingan, whose amateur boxing program in General Santos City was where Pacquiao started to box.
?Whenever he is in training, he doesn?t cheat in making the training easier for him.?
Just like what almost everyone has observed, ?Manny?s speed will propel him to victory,? said Golingan.
