If strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza gets his way, Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KO?s) will be back to his old strength and conditioning program for his next fight against Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23 KO?s) on November 23rd at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort, Macao, Macao S.A.R., China. Ariza has been trying to get Manny Pacquiao back to the old condition regiment that he had him under for his fight with Miguel Cotto in 2009 and before.
Manny Pacquiao stopped working on Ariza?s full program starting with his fight against Joshua Clottey because the extra strength and size he was putting on was slowing him down during training sessions.
Not working on his strength didn?t seem to hurt Pacquiao until his last two fights against Tim Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez. In both fights, Manny Pacquiao didn?t look as strong or as in good condition that he had been in his fight with Miguel Cotto.
Ariza said on his social media site when asked if he was going to try and bring Manny Pacquiao back to his old conditioning program: ?That?s the plan.?
It?s going to be interesting to see if Ariza gets his way because he not only has to convince Manny Pacquiao that it?s beneficial to him but also trainer Freddie Roach. If Pacquiao is slowing down with the added muscle and strength that he?s adding, it could cause problems with his training with Roach.
I think it?s a good thing for Manny Pacquiao to be working out more with Ariza because he doesn?t look as strong as he was four years ago, and it might help him to work on his strength.
It?s very possible that Manny Pacquiao may never be the fighter he once was even with Ariza getting his full cooperation with the training. Manny Pacquiao is almost 35, and there aren?t many fighters of that age still fighting at a high level at 147. It?s kind of rare. Once a fighter gets in his mid-30s, they?re pretty much on their way out of the sport by that point.
It may not matter how much time and effort Manny Pacquiao puts in with Ariza; if he can?t take a hard head shot from Brandon Rios then all that training will be for nothing. That?s a major question mark for Manny Pacquiao right now with him having come off of a 6th round knockout last December at the hands of Marquez. It?s possible that Manny Pacquiao could come into the fight with Rios in the best shape of his career and yet still get knocked out by one of Rio?s hard shots.
When you?ve been knocked out like Manny Pacquiao was against Marquez, there?s no certainty that he?ll be able to take hard shots in the future. It would be better for Pacquiao to be working out with Ariza, but it?s not going to guarantee Manny Pacquiao that he doesn?t get knocked out cold again. You can?t add muscles in your head, and if Rios lands a nice shot like the one that Marquez knocked Manny Pacquiao out with, then I can see Pacquiao getting knocked out again.
