source: philstar.com
Manny Pacquiao, who had people waiting for him in vain at the Los Angeles International Airport last Saturday, showed up at the Wild Card Gym yesterday.
It was business as usual.
The doors to the famous boxing gym in Hollywood were closed to mediamen and fans, and it only shows that Paccquiao and his trainer, Freddie Roach, mean business.
Roach said it will stay that way in the coming weeks, when Pacquiao’s training for the May 7 title fight with Shane Mosley, will hit its toughest, most crucial stage.
Sparring gets heavier and should peak at 12 rounds two or three weeks from now, before it tapers off until the day Team Pacquiao leaves for Las Vegas on fight week.
Pacquiao arrived in LA the other night, and left people waiting outside the airport.
He was whisked away by airport police, sneaking out through secret passages only VIPs are shown. Most of those who waited for the Filipino champion went home disappointed.
But Pacquiao, who did the same Houdini Act at the LAX when he arrived for the press tour of the Mosley fight last February, was understandably tired from the long journey.
Besides, keeping him away from the media and the fans upon his arrival could be the idea of airport police, because they’ve seen how wild things could get each time Pacquiao is around.
Pacquiao rested the whole of Sunday and reported for work yesterday, fully charged. Again, he trained behind closed doors although one picture came out showing him greeting Roach inside the gym.
Roach gave Pacquiao the extra day-off last Saturday, the day they left for LA, even if it was supposed to be a sparring day.
“He made me rest because he was so impressed with my work in Baguio. I really punished myself for three weeks there,” said Pacquiao of their high-altitude training in Baguio City.
Roach described the Baguiao camp as the best they’ve had in recent years, much better than last year, an election year, when Pacquiao sneaked out a number of times to honor some political commitments.
Once he skipped training in Manila because he had to meet President Aquino, and another time when he had to be taken to the hospital because of a recurring foot problem.
Even when in LA, training for the Antonio Margarito fight last November, Pacquiao flew out under cover of darkness, to meet Senator Harry Reid, then in the middle of a campaign in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao is having none of these this time, even if in the coming days there will be numerous television appearances and promotional gigs lined up for him.
“We had a great start, he’s very motivated, his intensity is great, we’re just going to pick up the sparring a lot here and his motivation is going to be the same,” Roach told the press recently.
“He’s not taking this guy lightly, he knows that the guy has experience and experience is knowledge and we can’t underestimate Shane Mosley,” he added.
That should be good news to all Pacquiao fans, even to those who waited for him, in vain, at the airport.
source: philstar.com
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