Manny Pacquiao made up for his laid-back first sparring day with a blazing performance on Thursday, leaving Freddie Roach delighted with the Filipino?s makeover that took place in a matter of 48 hours.
Less than six weeks before Pacquiao clashes with Juan Manuel Marquez on Dec. 8 in Las Vegas, the multi-awarded trainer heaved a sigh of relief after seeing his underling ease back to his old, flashy form.
?I am very pleased,? Roach said after Pacquiao logged six rounds with the reliable Rey Beltran and new recruit Suhrab Shidaev of Russia at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.
Although he showed up raring to rumble in his initial sparring in the presence of Roach on Tuesday after arriving in the US over the weekend, the 33-year-old Pacquiao hardly resembled the puncher who forced his sparmates to work for every dollar that they earn.
Top Rank chief Bob Arum was direct-to-the-point in his assessment of Pacquiao?s first sparring when he watched the action from the sidelines.
?He was a bit rusty,? declared the 80-year-old Arum, whose involvement in boxing promotions dates back to the mid-1960s in the time of Muhammad Ali.
A restive Arum was assured by Roach that such is the case and that everything will be all right in the coming days when Pacquiao has adjusted to the local time and weather conditions.
And that was the case when Pacquiao reported for duty on Thursday.
?Today was a big improvement,? said Roach, giving credit to the superb conditioning of his top student to his immediate transformation from being ordinary to special in a snap of a finger.
Pacquiao is aiming to pull off a victory that will force his detractors to eat their words, admitting that his fans and his critics want him to either send Marquez to sleep or beat him up so badly that the Mexican handlers will have no choice but to beg for the referee to stop the fight.
Interestingly, Marquez has the same thought balloon.
Claiming that he had been robbed in their three encounters, Marquez has vowed not to let the judges decide the outcome of their fourth fight.
?Definitely, I am going for a knockout,? said Marquez, who is neck-deep in training in Mexico City and nearby Toluca.
?If I score a knockout, the judges won?t get the chance to decide the result of the fight.?
