Relieved Freddie Roach gives Manny the preliminary thumbs up
It was a long time in coming, but today Freddie Roach was content to say his fighter, Manny Pacquiao, seems to be approaching his apex for his upcoming November 13 bout against Mexican star Antonio Margarito.
“We’re here now, he’s on fire today,” Roach exclaimed after the day’s routine at the Wild Card Gym with “Pacman.”
Pacquiao’s first three weeks of training camp for the upcoming bout took place in the high-altitude mountainous terrain of Baguio City, Philippines, and were all but marred by the pugilist’s high-profile stardom and political duties.
Things went from bad to worse. Top Rank Promoter Bob Arum, who put on the Margarito-Pacquiao bout, took a plane out to see Pacquiao spar only to say he wasn’t the fighter of old and that he’d seriously have to shape up to beat Margarito.
Roach followed suit and went as far as to suggest Pacquiao will retire from boxing in the near future to pursue his political career as congressman of the province of Sarangani.
That is still a very real possibility. But if Roach can focus Manny for one more fight, he’ll be happy.
“Thirteen rounds, then shadow boxing, speed bag, and punching ball, and skipping rope. As usual, we do like 29 rounds today, so that's a lot," said Pacquiao of his regime.
"Congressman Manny" has been working exclusively with Roach and conditioning coach Alex Ariza to be in the best possible shape for the November outing. While Roach is in charge of all things boxing, Ariza specializes in diet and exercise to draw out the
biological Superman in Pacquiao. So far, the two have done an incredible job.
Back in Oxnard, California, where Margarito is training for the bout, his camp is said to be entering a downtime phase before stepping it up again.
Manny will be looking for his eighth division title, an unprecedented feat in professional boxing.
Tags: