By Miguel Rivera
International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion Emmanuel 'Manny' Rodriguez has paused his training sessions in Havana, Cuba, to spend a few days in Puerto Rico.
However, the stay in his homeland will be short, because his intentions are to leave the island again to complete the preparation for the duel on May 18, against the Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue in the semi-final phase of the World Boxing Super Series to determine who is the best in the world at 118 pounds.
Establishing the training camp in Havana is Rodriguez's first option, but he did not rule out moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, or Los Angeles, California.
"The best preparation I've had was in Cuba. It was a very different training than what we do in Puerto Rico and it is not that the one here is bad, but rather that it is a very direct preparation. I do not regret anything and if I have to go back to Cuba, I do it," Rodriguez shared with Carlos Gonzalez.
"To win the fight (against Inoue) will require the concentration I had when I was in Cuba. There is no certainty that I will turn, but surely the camp will not be in Puerto Rico. It will be outside the country."
Rodriguez explained that the training regimen he learned in Cuba, he will incorporate it into his future routines.
"In Puerto Rico, you run in the morning, then rest and in the evenings you train. There, no. We ran and went straight to training. I rested and in the afternoons I returned to the gym. Right now I am under the routines of Puerto Rico because there is too much time left for the fight, but I am crazy to start again the work I did in Cuba," Rodriguez said.
"We are not thinking about losing to Inoue. We are training at 500%. The camp I did for the fight against Jason Moloney was in Puerto Rico and I recognize that the concentration was not the best."