FREDDIE ROACH has apparently knocked some sense into the head of the happy-go-lucky Manny Pacquiao. “When I told Manny that we won’t be going back to the Philippines until June 20,” said Roach with a chuckle, “he said, no problem.”
Roach had been alarmed by reports that came from Manila that Pacquiao would only be training at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood for a little over three weeks and then return to Manila on June 3.
Roach said he did not encounter any resistance from Pacquiao when told about his plans for the GenSan southpaw, who collides with Oscar Larios, a livewire Mexican, on July 2 at the Araneta Coliseum.
“I was very happy that he agreed,” said Roach, who bared that a new ring would be delivered anytime this week that will be used mainly for Pacquiao’s workouts.
Pacquiao arrived in Los Angeles on Monday night via Philippine Airlines and showed up at the Wild Card the following day in civvies.
“No, he did not work out today because I am giving him time to recover from jet lag,” said Roach, who expects Pacquiao to be in training clothes on Wednesday. “We won’t be boxing (sparring) until the second week.”
“He will be doing (running) the flats on Day One of training camp,” added the bespectacled former featherweight contender who has been Pacquiao’s trainer since mid-2001.
News of Pacquiao’s decision to heed his trainer’s advice was met with approval by those close to him.
“Very good!” exclaimed confidant Wakee Salud. “I was worried when he said a few days ago that he would come back to Manila on June 3 because Manny won’t be able to focus on his training because of his countless endorsement deals and big-time derby invitations.”
“One month from now, Manny would be in fighting form,” added Salud, aware that once Pacquiao shifts to training gear, “it’s very hard to stop him from not pushing himself to the limit.”
Larios, meanwhile, is already in the thick of preparations in his hometown of Guadalajara, where he’s been doing morning roadwork and sparring since coming back from watching the Oscar dela Hoya versus Ricardo Mayorga world title fight in Las Vegas last week.
Larios will travel to Tokyo in June for the final phase of his training and should be in Manila on June 26 or 27.
More than Pacquiao’s World Boxing Council International super-featherweight crown, the Filipino’s future will be at stake in the fight that will take place at 11 a.m. so the overseas viewers, particularly from the US, will be able to catch the action on pay-per-view at primetime.
