Mexican taps youthful sparmate
IN ANTICIPATION of a fast and furious exchange of punches with Manny Pacquiao on Jan. 21, Erik Morales has tapped the services of a youthful and promising sparmate who he believes will aid him in coping with the high-octane phase that the Filipino will bring to the ring.
Lightweight Abraham Esquivel, a 19-year-old Mexican now based in Texas, has been ordered to work out with Morales in a training camp in Queretaro with three weeks remaining before El Terrible collides with Pacquiao at the 19,000-seat Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Esquivel has only three fights under his belt, but he is also a southpaw who stands as tall as Pacquiao at 5-7, and this is the reason why his battery of trainers are confident Morales will gain a lot from sparring with a beginner like Esquivel.
Supervising Morales’ training is new trainer Jose Luis Lopez, who was brought in to replace the fighter’s father and longtime strategist Jose “Olivaritos” Morales, and conditioning coach Raul Roblez, who a few days ago predicted that the Mexican will stop Pacquiao dead in his tracks.
Pacquiao, meanwhile has also gone full blast in his preparation as he aims to exact payback against the man who dealt him a heartbreaking 12-round points loss in March last year at the MGM Grand.
“I train very hard for this fight,” said Pacquiao, who runs at Griffith Park during morning every other day to build on stamina.
When he is not climbing the famed Los Angeles landmark, Pacquiao does the flats in a park near the Palazzo at La Brea, a luxurious apartment complex that has been his residence the last five months.
In the afternoon, Pacquiao troops to the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood to be with cornerman Freddie Roach, who is confident they have all learned the mistakes of the first Morales fight.
Pacquiao is coming off a devastating performance against Hector Velazquez of Mexico, while Morales is still hurting from the unanimous decision defeat handed by Zahir Raheem.
Despite the outcome of their first fight, Pacquiao has been installed the favorite at 7-5.
