Manny Pacquiao is Sparring Hard; Ariza Gives Update

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Manny Pacquiao, the eight division worlds champion sparred seven rounds with three different sparring partners at the Wild Card Gym yesterday while undefeated pound for pound No. 1 Floyd Mayweather Jr reportedly zapped former world champion Zab Judah in a sparring session at the Mayweather gym in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao sparred two rounds each with 21 year old lightweight Kenneth “Bossman” Simms Jr of Chicago who is 5-0 with 2 knockouts and Dierry Jean who is 31 years old and moved from Haiti to Montreal, Canada when he was 10 years old and reportedly fights like Mayweather and has a record 28-1 with 20 knockouts.

The third sparring partner whose name trainer Freddie Roach couldn’t remember is from Las Vegas and is likely to be the so-called secret sparring partner  reportedly from the Mayweather Gym.

ABS-CBN’s Dyan Castillejo told BoxingScene.com/New Standard/Viva Sports that according to Roach, Pacquiao’s timing was not perfect.

Roach also revealed that Pacquiao would do more sprints around the oval and lessen his running uphill.

Castillejo reported that when Pacquiao went jogging and worked out at the Pan Pacific Park there was a huge crowd of Filipinos who showed up to watch Manny train.

When he returned to his home for breakfast he was visited by the “Living Legend” of Philippine basketball and an avid Pacquiao fan, former senator Robert Jaworski.

Strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, who is now working with Mayweather  and previously worked for years with Team Pacquiao, told us that “everything is looking good” and that Mayweather is “mentally taking this to another level. He is serious and looking sharper and stronger.

Ariza indicated he was working on “making small improvements and changing things up.”

To Ariza “this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to work with two of the best fighters in the world (Pacquiao and Mayweather). Its like working with the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.”