LOS ANGELES — The moment Manny Pacquiao walked inside the Wild Card Boxing Club on Thursday, training assistant Macka Foley delivered a line that’s meant to say to everyone in attendance that the shop will be closed for a little over two hours.
“Manny Pacquiao is in the house,” shouted Foley, a former heavyweight from Boston.
But not on this particular day because Pacquiao, the Filipino buzzsaw who has got a pressing engagement next week in Las Vegas, will be showcasing his wares in front of the media as part of the promotional agreement with Top Rank.
With digital and conventional cameras clicking and TV cameras zooming on his every move, Pacquiao mesmerized everyone with a display of lightning-quick reflexes and punching power with exactly nine days left before he rumbles with Erik Morales of Mexico for the second time at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
In front of mediamen representing the Philippines, Mexico and even the US, Pacquiao did the punch-mitt routine with trainer Freddie Roach, who expressed elation over the progress of their training.
“Manny’s extremely fine,” said Roach.
Hardened by no-holds barred sparring thrice a week since the first week of December, Pacquiao is not looking past Morales even though he’s been very relaxed and composed the past few days, a far cry from the time when he was still under a former promoter.
Also in Pacquiao’s training regimen is to execute 1,000 situps.
“This is a hard fight that’s why I made plenty of sacrifices,” said Pacquiao, who spends most of his free time sending emails to friends and downloading songs from the internet using his laptop.
Pacquiao is so calm and composed that he hardly mentions anything relative to his second match with Morales the moment he gets back to his two-bedroom apartment unit at the Palazzo in the La Brea area.
The past few days, he has copied songs of such diverse artists like Eric Clapton, Elvis Presley, Bee Gees, The Everly Brothers, The Platters, The Righteous Brothers, The Carpenters, The Beatles, Pilita Corales, Eva Eugenio and even Victor Wood.
“I really enjoy listening to their music,” said Pacquiao, who also owns the latest iPod.
