This time, Arum heaps praises on Pacquiao

A letdown the last time, Manny Pacquiao made sure he would leave a lasting impression on Top Rank promoter Bob Arum. The world’s top pound-for-pound fighter rocked all three sparmates he faced late Tuesday, with Glen Tapia nursing a bloodied nose after the action-packed rounds that wowed a small audience at the Shape Up gym inside the Cooyesan Hotel in Baguio. Among those who witnessed Pacquiao's return to championship form was Arum himself. Arum was watching at ringside when the 31-year-old Pacquiao relentlessly attacked and bombed Tapia, Medina and Amir Khan, the reigning World Boxing Association (WBA) light-welterweight champion, at an extended sparring session that started what trainer Freddie Roach earlier referred to as the "toughest two weeks" of training for the Filipino’s Nov. 13 title fight with Mexican Antonio Margarito. “He had a bloody nose," said Filipino assistant trainer Nonoy Neri, referring to Tapia. Khan, who sparred with Pacquiao for the first time since arriving in the country’s Summer Capital, went four rounds with the Pacman, while Medina and Tapia had three each. Pacquiao’s staggering performance came a day after Arum, chairman of Top Rank Promotions, said during Monday’s open workout for members of the media that he was convinced the Filipino’s current condition would not be enough for him to beat the 32-year-old Margarito in their 12-round showdown at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Arum had the privilege of watching Pacquiao spar in training camp upon his arrival in the country Saturday, and was blunt enough to say that he didn’t like what he saw.

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV “If the fight happened on Saturday, Margarito would win the fight," Arum said before a stunned audience. But the next time he was back at ringside, he obviously savored the experience. The 78-year-old veteran promoter already left the gym by the time the seven-time world champion began to take it easy on Medina, but not after witnessing how Pacquiao threw left and right bombs at both Khan and Tapia. Arum had stressed that Pacquiao has to be in real tough shape for him to get past the 5-foot-11 Margarito, a two-time world champion. “You have to be in tough physical and mental shape. You have to be, or else, you’re not gonna beat him (Margarito)," said Arum, who’s set to return to the U.S. today. “So Manny knows that. I mean, Manny knows more about boxing than I do, because you know he knows what it takes to be in the kind of shape that he has to be in to win the fight." Deciding to defer his return to Manila for another day in the aftermath of the destruction wrought by typhoon Juan in the northern part of the country, Pacquiao is expected to return to Manila by late Thursday night, shortly after sparring for the last time in his Baguio training camp. He and Roach will then resume training at the Elorde gym in Quezon City over the weekend, before flying to Los Angeles late Saturday evening. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV