Filtered by: Sports
Sports
Strict crowd control in effect at Manny Pacquiao’s training camp
MANILA, Philippines – No hangers-on, please. The usual circus that trail Manny Pacquiao wherever he goes is non-existent at the pound for pound king’s ongoing training camp at Wild Card Gym in Hollywood. Boxing site Philboxing.com reported on Thursday that Pacquiao’s trainers have implemented a strict crowd control at the gym, letting only a handful of people in to view the training. Philboxing’s Dr. Ed dela Vega, who usually enjoys easy access to the gym, wrote that even he had to ask permission from Freddie Roach’s new assistant, former heavyweight champion Michael Moorer, to observe the sessions inside and take photos for his weekly progress reports. He reported that the only other people inside, aside from the training team of Moorer, Buboy Fernandez, Nonoy Neri, Eric Brown and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, are MP Promotions official photographer Miguel Salazar and videographer Levi Gutierrez. The “off-limits" status is apparently meant to shield Pacquiao from possible distractions from throngs of people who want a glimpse of their idol. The 30-year-old Pacquiao is now into the second week of training for his May 2 superfight against International Boxing Organization (IBO) junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton. Roach, the Hall of Fame trainer who has molded Pacquiao into the more complete fighter that is he is now, is remotely monitoring the progress of training from England, where he’s preparing Amir Khan for his battle with Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera this weekend. Roach is expected to be back at Wild Card on Monday yet but Pacquiao himself brushed off fears that his weeklong absence would adversely affect the training. In his regular column Kumbinasyon at Philboxing.com and Abante, Pacquiao wrote that everything’s A-OK at his training camp even without Roach. “Kahit na wala ngayong linggo si coach Freddie Roach, hindi naman namin iniinda ang kaniyang kawalan," Pacquiao wrote. “Nagagawa rin naming pag-aralan at perpektuhin ang mga bagay-bagay na dapat gawin upang paghandaan ang style ni Hatton, na isa ring magaling na boksingero." Pacquiao gave extra credit to Fernandez, who is holding his own in doing the mitts with him in lieu of Roach. “Isa na ring eksperto si Buboy sa pagbasa ng bawat kilos ng kalaban at nailalagay niya sa praktikal na pamamaraan ang pag-train gamit ang mitts," he said of his long-time buddy. “Kahit na medyo tumaba na si Buboy, mabilis pa rin ang kanyang kamay at kapansin-pansin na rin ang kanyang talino sa pag-aaral ng mga pinong sining ng pakikipaglaban," he added. On Wednesday, Pacquiao did 10 rounds with the mitts with Fernandez. “It was supposed to be only four rounds. Then it went six rounds. But Manny wanted more, so we ended up doing 10 rounds," Buboy was quoted by Philboxing.com. “I am not complaining because it was nice to see Manny build up his routine." Pacquiao is in the process of preparing for the hard grind ahead, including six weeks of sparring, upon Roach’s return from England. –GMANews.TV
More Videos
Most Popular