WHAT is this I hear that Manny Pacquiao is scrimping on his spar mates?
Is it true he is using nondescript boxers to test his power and stamina? That he refuses to get powerhouse practice fighters because it would cost him?
I find that hard to believe.
Pacquiao a much-bandied about billionaire, suddenly minding spending some money for quality spar mates?
Incredible, if not downright stupid.
If true, then he is not looking for a win but trouble when he fights Brandon Rios on Nov. 24 in Macau.
Rios is no pushover to begin with. He is young and packs power in his fists. He can box more than slug.
I hate to say this but is Pacquiao, if indeed he has downgraded his choice of spar mates, suddenly afraid to tangle with caliber fighters?
I do know that sparring against world-class hirees require stamina and the willpower to absorb telling blows as part of the toughening process.
Maybe his knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez almost a year ago still stigmatizes him?
But I doubt that very much. The world has always known Pacquiao as a toughie, a scrapper, a survivor.
He has never been a stranger to failures, to even stinging setbacks.
Hasn?t he rebounded from two knockout defeats in the 90?s to spectacularly become the only eight- division world champion, in the process demolishing world-renowned fighters like Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, David Diaz, Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito, among others?
It has been widely believed that because of his sterling fight record and vaunted firepower, Pacquiao has repeatedly made Floyd Mayweather Jr. cower in fear each time talks of a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout would hit the headlines.
Only when Pacquiao suffered that stunning sixth-round knockout loss to Marquez did Mayweather finally find a somewhat valid reason to avoid PacMan.
Well, still, it?s redemption time for Pacquiao, who needs to not only defeat Rios but to win convincingly as well. Thus, no less than a knockout win is needed to restore order in the Pacquiao camp.
But if so-so spar mates faced Pacquiao in the run-up to the Rios bout, cancel all bets. I?m no sucker.
