Tweet
LOS ANGELES – World eight-division boxing champ and current World Boxing Association (WBA) Welterweight king Manny Pacquiao drew the first blood against one of his sparring mates during sparring session at the Wild Card Gym Thursday afternoon.
Pacquiao caught Arnold Gonzalez with a crisp left straight late in the third round drawing blood from the latter’s nose.
The sparring was disrupted briefly as blood dripping from Gonzalez’s nose had to be wiped off the canvass.
Pacquiao sparred for three rounds against Gonzalez, a burly 23-year old New York-born boxer.
Gonzalez, whose parents hailed from Ecuador, was a two-time national boxing champion.
Gonzalez would be making his professional debut on January 19 as one of the undercards in the Pacquiao-Broner title showdown.
“He managed to catch me with a good left late in the third round. Of course, you have to expect a tough sparring with someone like Manny Pacquiao,” Gonzalez bared.
After the sparring, Pacquiao, out of compassion, approached Gonzalez twice saying “Are you okay?”
Blood drips from Gonzalez's nose courtesy of a left straight from Manny Pacquiao during their sparring at the Wildcard Gym in Los Angeles on Saturday, Dec. 29. Photos by Wendell Alinea.
“Pacquiao is a very nice guy. He’s paying me to spar with him but it’s more heartwarming to know he is concerned about my safety. He is giving me a break. And my team is now working out my inclusion as one of the undercards in his January 19 fight,” Gonzalez said.
According to Gonzalez “Manny Pacquiao is a very unpredictable fighter. He is fast and strong. I can hardly believe he is already 40 years old.”
After trading punches with Gonzalez, Pacman sparred for another three rounds against a slick American pug Lydell Rhodes.
The Pinoy ring icon wrapped up his sparring session with a four-round tactical brawl with his key sparring mate George Kambosos.
After last Thursday’s gym session, the boxer-lawmaker came out of the dressing room in an elegant outfit.
Outside the Wild Card Gym, he noticed a long queue of fans holding boxing gloves, photographs, t-shirts, etc. for signature.
He spent around 30 minutes entertaining his adoring fans before speeding off to an unknown rendezvous for a dinner date with his beloved wife, Jinkee.
Comment