by Ronnie Nathanielsz
“Fighter of the Decade” Manny Pacquiao surprised celebrated trainer Freddie Roach during a regular Monday workout at the Pacman Wild Card Gym in Manny’s hometown of General Santos when he went 15 rounds on the punch-mitts.
Assistant trainer and childhood friend Buboy Fernandez told BoxingScene.com/Manila Standard that Pacquiao will continue sparring on Tuesday with undefeated Lydell Rhodes (19-0, 9 KO’s) who fights very much like WBO welterweight champion Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley but that Rhodes can’t handle the power of Pacquiao.
Fernandez told us that Pacquiao has been particularly aggressive in training which augurs well for his rematch with Bradley because the consensus in Team Pacquiao is that he needs to win by a knockout to re-establish himself as an elite fighter.
Roach has said he would train Pacquiao to go for a knockout should the opportunity present itself while Manny’s adviser Michael Koncz has said nothing less than a knockout will do.
Pacquiao and his entourage will leave for Los Angeles on Saturday where he plans to pick up sparring at Roach’s Wild Card Gym where he will be joined by former strength and conditioning coach Justin Fortune along with two new sparring partners- Kendall Holt and Steve Forbes, two experienced and well-rounded fighters.
Holt actually lost his WBO light welterweight title to Bradley even in 2009 though he dropped him in the first round as well as the last while Forbes lost a twelve round unanimous decision to Andre Berto in a welterweight title fight after dropping a twelve round unanimous decision to Oscar Del La Hoya some three months earlier.
