Freddie Roach prepared to stamp out Manny Pacquiao’s bad habits
Freddie Roach isn’t hiding the rift that has developed between him and fighter Manny Pacquiao.
Roach indicates that he wants his star fighter to stop juggling public and civil duties in light of his November 13 fight with Antonio Margarito.
Previously, Pacquiao and Roach said that they didn’t think external factors (such as Pacquiao’s duties as a Philippine congressman) would conflict with his rigorous training program. But waiving those responsibilities off seems to have become a little more
complicated.
Though in the throes of training camp, Pacquiao has maintained weekend trips to Manila in order to keep up with official congress duties. Allegedly, he has been sleeping in his car on side roads for rest purposes. Roach said that the weekend trips are "...definitely
tiring and won’t do him any good.”
Roach additionally confessed to The Inquirer regarding another issue he’s upset about. Apparently, Manny has a habit of playing basketball at night after training sessions. These basketball sessions have reportedly started to usurp morning roadwork
sessions for Pacquiao. Roach said firmly, "...tomorrow is his last day playing basketball.”
Despite concerns, the famous trainer also said that sparring was good and that Pacquiao was doing fine.
Roach confirmed that in the coming days Pacquiao could expect to spar with WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan, who has been training in tandem with Pacquiao for his own upcoming December 11 bout with Marcos Maidana.
'Pacman' remains on a highly-monitored diet and exercise program, headed by conditioning coach Alex Ariza. Ariza is currently employing Pacquiao in a number of drills he recently called “...tough, but only the beginning.”
Ariza also has Pacquiao consuming 7,000 calories a day, in an effort to convert new body mass into relevant muscle.
Top Rank chief Bob Arum expressed his scepticism with reports of Manny’s lacklustre training methods, saying, "It's always this way with Manny. But when he gets to the U.S., there are less distractions for him. All the distractions, and there are a lot,
go away when he leaves the Philippines.”
Tags: