On November 24, eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao will return to the ring after almost one year of inactivity since he lost via a sixth round stunning knockout against long-time foe Juan Manuel Marquez last December in Las Vegas, Nevada. Right after his loss to Marquez, the Nevada Sports Athletic Commission (NSAC) banned Pacquiao from engaging in boxing and boxing-related activities to allow him to recover from the devastating knockout loss and to undergo more brain checks and general medical examination. The 120-day NSAC suspension also prohibits Pacquaio from engaging in boxing-related exercises for 90 days. Pacquiao has not gone into sparring and there was no report that he engaged in any boxing-related activity during the four-month suspension. Pacquiao could have started boxing-related exercises after the lapse of the ban but the only exercise or conditioning activity that was reported is his regular basketball games. So far, nothing has been reported about sparring sessions with his regular sparring partners. “When asked if Pacquiao is already training for the fight; Roach said he doesn’t think so as he believes the boxer usually doesn’t begin training without him,” Latino News writes. “The trainer added that Pacquiao is playing a lot of basketball as part of his conditioning regimen,” the report added. The report also says that Roach is targeting to start training on October 6 which is less than the usual two-month training for Pacquiao’s previous fights. Seemingly, Roach may be just too tied up with his hectic schedules. Roach is currently training among others, Zou Shiming of China for his next fight. He would later have his hands full when he starts training former Pacquiao foe Miguel Cotto for his return fight. But observers say that Pacquiao’s layoff from boxing is just too long, and a month-and-a- half training without indulging in much longer and real sparring sessions could put him in a dangerous situation against the very active and much younger Rios. Business and politics have kept Pacquiao busy for most of 2013. Seemingly, he had little time to do boxing-related exercises since his loss to Marquez. And now it appears that he will face a younger foe with less than eight weeks of training and a limited time for physical conditioning. Conditioning coach Alex Ariza has not been seen with Pacquiao running around or doing exercises to condition his mind and body for his return fight. Critics say its too early for Pacquiao to start training for the Nov. 24 fight. But the Filipino star seems to have almost forgotten boxing altogether as he has been kept occupied with politics. While basketball is a good form of exercise, doing it regularly or even everyday, would not be enough to compensate for serious and real sparring sessions. Pacquiao has sufficient time to prepare for his “make or break” fight if his handlers will start him early in the game like starting to train in September instead of October. Still, an honest-to-goodness sparring sessions with tough sparring partners will do wonders for Pacquiao as it will compensate for his year-long layoff from boxing.
