By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao is “training as fervently as I have ever seen him” according to lawyer Keith Davidson, a member of Pacquiao’s management team headed by Shelly Finkel who manages a roster of excellent fighters including Rocky Juarez and Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy.
In an email to Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today, Davidson reported that Pacquiao’s sparring was “going well and he seems to have a new-found maturity about him in the ring while at the same time not losing his youthful exuberance.”
Davidson who was in Manila recently and watched Pacquiao work out at the L&M Gym in downtown Manila and at the Wild Card Gym in BF Homes, Paranaque said he was pleased with Pacquiao’s showing but warned that his opponent, Mexican Hector Velazquez was a tough fighter who could not be taken for granted.
Davidson revealed that Pacquiao has even been running an extra five miles on his day off which is Sunday in what is likely to be an effort to get into shape quickly after a long layoff marked by long hours and late nights shooting a movie, attending cockfighting derbies and playing pool.
Boxing writer Nick Giongco who accompanied Pacquiao to Los Angeles and watched his morning roadwork and training at the Wild Card Gym of Freddie Roach said Pacquiao was taking the fight very seriously and training extra hard. Giongco noted that strict rules are being enforced when Pacquiao trains and hangers-on have been banned from both the gym and his apartment in an upscale neighborhood.
