LOS ANGELES — Manny Pacquiao closed out his sparring sessions Monday and looked all set to face Hector Velasquez of Mexico at the Staples Center on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
The two-hour workout at the star-studded Wild Card Gym here in Hollywood ended with Pacquiao airing confidence that he would get over his opponent, known as a vicious body puncher.
“Handa na. Okay na,” said the Filipino slugger after four rounds of sparring with Israel Vasquez, and spending more time stretching, skipping ropes, shadow boxing, pounding the bags and doing hundreds of sit-ups.
“Akala nila mahina ang tiyan ko kaya lalu kong pinatibay ito,” said Pacquiao.
Since he flew in on Aug. 8, Pacquiao logged a total of 95 rounds of sparring, heading into the 12-round fight, actually a tune-up for a projected rematch with Mexico’s Erik Morales.
“He’s coming out perfectly and he’s doing well,” said Justin Fortune, a former heavyweight contender and now Pacquiao’s conditioning coach.
Though he said he loved to see Pacquiao train longer for the coming fight, the beefy Australian said he didn’t want to push the Filipino harder than what was needed.
“You know Manny always works very hard,” said Fortune, who takes the five-mile, early-morning jog with Pacquiao at the Griffith Park — seven days a week.
Fortune said the next two days will be a walk in the park with afternoon sessions at the gym spent on almost the same program except for the sparring.
“It will be light from now on ,” said Pacquiao as he prepared to leave the gym and head back to his expensive $4,000-a-month apartment at the La Palazzo — some 10 minutes away from the gym by car.
Velasquez is still in Tijuana training, and is expected to take a three-hour ride to LA any day now. He should be here by Thursday to attend the final press conference at the Wilshire Hotel in downtown LA.
Pacquiao is no longer booked for any engagement outside of his training, and intends to stay home until the press conference, and the official weigh-in on Friday at the Staples Center.
His cellular phones, all three of them, are no longer in his hands. They’ve been entrusted to his LA-based adviser Joe Ramos. The phone line in his apartment had been cut off, too, to avoid any calls that might distract the Filipino boxer.
Pacquiao’s American trainer, Freddie Roach, is just as impressed with his fighter.
“He’s definitely ready. He’s just going through the motions now. The last two days of sparring were great. I’m very pleased. And his mind is where we want it to be,” he added.
But there’s one word of caution from Roach.
“I just hope he doesn’t take the fight lightly,” he said.
