No more basketball. No more road trips. No more appointments. For the next two weeks, it will all be boxing, boxing and boxing for Manny Pacquiao.
The Filipino superstar arrived in Los Angeles yesterday morning (Manila time) and starting today will train harder than ever, from early morning to mid-afternoon, in preparation for his Nov. 13 showdown with Antonio Margarito.
Before boarding the plane to LA, Pacquiao said he’s 90 percent ready for the fight but wished that he could work more on his speed.
He’ll have two weeks to do that at the Wild Card Gym which will be closed down from noon until 5 p.m. to enable Pacquiao to concentrate on his training. Only those with business of being there will be allowed in.
And by the time they head for Texas on Nov. 8, Monday of fight week, Pacquiao should be in his sharpest form as he climbs the ring to face an opponent bigger than anyone he’d faced and beaten before.
“He knows that when we get to LA, it’s gonna be a different ball game. There are no excuses there are no outside distractions no appointments,” said Alex Ariza, the conditioning guru.
Pacquiao vowed to do everything to win this fight.
“Gagawin ko lahat,” he said.
The Filipino icon, based on reports, has a guaranteed purse of $15 million for this fight, and once everything comes in, according to his promoter, Bob Arum, he’d be richer by $22 million to $25 million.
Arum said Margarito is guaranteed $3 million and could earn as much as $6 million
Freddie Roach owns the Wild Card Gym. He’s the boss. He will call the shots. He will run the show.
The celebrated trainer wasn’t too satisfied with the way training went four weeks in Manila and Baguio, with too many distractions, too many people around Pacquiao, whether they’re friends, business partners or plain hangers-on.
Pacquiao will hold a media day on Wednesday at the Wild Card Gym, and that should be the only time Roach would open the doors to his famous Hollywood sweatshop.
Margarito, said to be a 110 percent ready for the fight, will have his day on Thursday, in a nearby gym owned by Justine Fortune, Pacquiao’s former conditioning coach.
Pacquiao has logged close to 70 rounds of sparring, and on Tuesday he could go for a dozen against Michael Medina, Glen Tapia, Amir Khan and Vanes Martirosyan, the undefeated (28-0) middleweight.
Martirosyan vowed to be the first boxer to knock down Pacquiao in sparring, so he can claim the $1,000 bonus from Roach.
“Yep. As soon as I get into the ring that’s what is going to happen. Day One, Manny is going down,” he said.
Roach has cut down the number of sparring rounds for the Margarito fight. While they’ve gone as high as 160 in their previous fights, he wants to limit Pacquiao to just over a hundred this time.
Pacquiao steps up training in L. A.
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