Tweet
So no one else noticed that picture of Pacman in the background dressed like batman holding his dog?
Come on that was the part of the video by far.
Come on that was the part of the video by far.
-
-
looks good. Can't wait to see Rios get battered. The real question is whats going on with the painting in the background, Pac holding a dog in batman suit?Comment
-
PACQUIAO LOOKING IMPRESSIVE AHEAD OF ROACH ARRIVAL
Ryan ********
Just days before head trainer Freddie Roach is due to join him in the Philippines for the final six weeks of camp, Manny
Pacquiao has reached what insiders call "75 percent fighting
shape" for the matchup with Brandon Rios.
GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines – The mood at the
Pacman Wild Card Gym has changed dramatically in the the
month since Manny Pacquiao began training for his Nov. 24
bout against former WBA lightweight titleholder Brandon Rios.
The hangers-on – who have been as much a part of Pacquiao
gym scenes as the punching bags in the past – have been
weeded out, with only essential personnel and a few media
outlets present.
The glass door leading to the boxing section – through which
fans would sneak a peak at Pacquiao's preparations – is now
covered with a blue tarp, with the gym set to begin complete
shutdown mode on Monday during the hours of Pacquiao's
training.
That hasn't stopped crowds of 30 or so from standing across
the street, hoping to catch a glimpse of Pacquiao through the
third-story window.
The playful training that typified the early portion of
Pacquiao's camp has been replaced with deadly serious
sparring and padwork. When head trainer Freddie Roach
arrives in the Philippines on Thursday to finish up the final six
week of Pacquiao's training camp, he'll be greeted by a fighter
who has already laid the groundwork.
"I think Freddie will be
pleasantly surprised at the
conditioning and timing that
Manny has this early," said
Pacquiao advisor Michael
Koncz. "I think we're well
ahead of the game."
Roach, who has led Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 knockouts) to titles
in seven of his record-setting eight divisions, will be bringing
with him British junior middleweight Liam Vaughan (8-1, 2
KOs) to spar with Pacquiao.
Those who won't be joining Roach on this trip are Chinese
lightweight prospect Yang Lianhui and former Pacquiao
strength and conditioning coach Justin Fortune. Koncz told
******.com that he felt Yang "had nothing to offer" Pacquiao
as a sparring partner.
Fortune was expected to re-join Team Pacquiao for the first
time since 2007, but Koncz said that schedule conflicts have
put that deal in jeopardy for the time being. Pacquiao's
promoter, Bob Arum, told veteran Filipino sportswriter Ronnie
Nathanielsz that a visa issue was to blame for the Australian
citizen's cancelation.
"We contacted Justin on such short notice, and obviously he
has a business to run and other things," said Koncz. "He's
making his best efforts to arrange his schedules and if he can
he'll come. If he can't, he won't."
Pacquiao had already sent home one partner, Marlon Alta,
after stopping the ill-prepared middleweight in the second
round of a session over the weekend, while unbeaten
Ghanaian Fredrick Lawson had been roughed up for three
rounds afterwards.
"On Saturday, Manny was absolutely in the zone," said Mike
Altamura, Lawson's manager. "To me, there are only two guys
in the sport who are untouchable when they're in the zone,
and that's Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather."
Replacement sparring partner Dan Nazareno Jr. (17-10, 13
KOs) of San Fernando, Philippines, was none too frightened
by those reports, and looked forward eagerly to their first
session on Tuesday afternoon.
The junior welterweight Nazareno is slightly taller than
Pacquiao at about 5-feet-8, with a strong right hand, an iron
jaw and no-retreat approach. In other words, he's a diet
version of Brandon Rios.
True to form when dealing
with a new sparring mate,
Pacquiao began the first
round in full retreat,
gauging the power and
speed of Nazareno while
trying to catch the punches
on his gloves. Nazareno
took the opportunity to throw hard right hands at Pacquiao,
some of which got through the guard, before Pacquiao began
to turn it up in the second half of the round.
As Nazareno's form began to fall apart with the onset of
fatigue, Pacquiao began to counterpunch and move effectively,
setting up his left cross with his awkward upper body
movement. After three rounds, Nazareno's face looked red but
he donned a satisfied smile.
During any lull in the action, Pacquiao would shout, "Go, go,
go!" to spur on his opponent to attack. "That's so they put
pressure on me, that's my opponent's style," said Pacquiao
later. By the third round, Pacquiao was in devastating form,
landing his left cross at will and following up with shots to
the body in the style he had employed against Miguel Cotto in
2009.
"I was not stunned," said Nazareno, who remarked that his
arms were hurt from catching punches. "I can take the
punches. Manny's power is OK but I can't handle the speed."
Next up was Lawson (21-0, 19 KOs), who had a score to
settle with Pacquiao following the trouncing he had endured
on Saturday. The 25-year-old came out more aggressively
than he had reportedly been in previous sessions with
Pacquiao, sticking his left jab in effectively to draw Pacquiao
out of his guard, then throwing hard right hands through the
gaps.
As Lawson worked to counter from close range, Pacquiao
switched up his own tactics, stepping around Lawson in an
attempt to create new angles to deliver his punches from.
Suffice it to say that Lawson didn't much resemble the Rios
who has built up a 31-1-1 (23 KOs) record.
"Coming forward and putting consistent pressure on Manny
isn't something that comes naturally to Lawson," said
Altamura. "He's had to work on it and it's just about being
smart."
Pacquiao assistant Nonoy Neri, who has split most of the
duties so far with Pacquiao's right-hand man, Buboy
Fernandez, estimated that Pacquiao was 75 percent in fighting
shape, but seemed pleased with what he has seen so far in
camp.
"When Manny throws
punches, he has speed, he
has good head movement,"
said Neri, who has been a
close Pacquiao associate
since 1999.
"Nazareno has more speed
than Rios but the same style. ... Lawson is different style than
Rios, he's moving, throws jabs. It's not the same with Rios.
Rios is a flat-footed fighter."
Koncz seems to like the variety that Lawson adds to the
sparring mix. "I brought him in specifically because he's a
little different style than Brandon. He moves a little bit more,
so I want to keep (Pacquiao) on his toes and not get stuck
into a rut with one style."
Just as quickly as Pacquiao can hit the kill switch, he can
take the edge off with fun and games in the gym. After
finishing five rounds of sparring and a couple more on the
pads, Pacquiao matched up others in the gym for impromptu
sparring sessions.
Manny's younger brother, Bobby Pacquiao, who retired in
2008 with a pro record of 30-15-3 (15 KOs), was matched
with former Pacquiao sparring partner Fernando Montilla, who
retired in 2009 with a 33-21-4 (22 KOs) record. In their
primes, the fight could've been a decent national title fight.
With Koncz, Neri and former two-time champion Gerry
Penalosa serving as judges, the two slugged it out over three
rounds. Bobby Pacquiao won a deserved three-round
decision, earning himself 30,000 pesos (about $750) from his
older brother, while Montilla earned 15,000 for his efforts.
* * *
Wednesday's padwork session with Fernandez hinted at the
explosiveness that remains in the 34-year-old Pacquiao, even
after sustaining back-to-back losses to Timothy Bradley and
Juan Manuel Marquez last year.
Appearing to be more rested than he was the previous day,
Pacquiao lit up the pads for six rounds before finishing up by
hitting various bags in the gym.
Training in "GenSan" has
its advantages and
disadvantages. While it's
difficult to find local
sparring partners on short
notice in the booming
fishing city, the familiarity
of the surroundings allows
Pacquiao to control his environment more so than in recent
training locations like Los Angeles and Baguio City,
Philippines.
"The main reason is he's not the so-called celebrity here like
he is everywhere else because he lives here, people see him,"
said Koncz. "They still clamor around him but he's not in
such demand here.
"After training, we can go to his home and we have the
capability of locking it down because of security. So Manny
can determine how late he wants to see people, who he wants
to see, and people are very respectful here."
It also affords him the opportunity to handle more of his
duties as a congressman in the nearby Sarangani province.
During his Sunday rest, Pacquiao accompanied police on a
raid of a cyber sex den in GenSan that had been exploiting
underage girls, then on Tuesday took the hour-plus ride out to
Glan in Sarangani to attend the Lubi-Lubi Festival, an annual
dance event that celebrates the city's passion for coconuts.
Each afternoon, as Pacquiao walks back to his H2 Hummer
after training, a group of beggars and vendors meets him at
his vehicle, asking for help for various hardships. Each day,
Pacquiao gives to women holding babies and buys whatever
fruit is being sold to help out vendors.
It's a daily reminder of just how "real" home can be.
Ryan ******** is a member of the Boxing Writers Association
of America (BWAA) and contributes to The Ring magazine and
GMA News. He can be reached at ryan@ryan********.com . An
archive of his work can be found at www.ryan********.com .
Follow him on Twitter: @Ryan********.Comment
-
I've been in Manny's camp the whole time, he's looking sharp. He looks better at this point than he did at the end of the Bradley camp, which I also covered.Comment
Comment