Quote:
Pacquiao in town to start training for Barrera fight
By Emmanuel B. Villaruel
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Barely a day after arriving in Cebu, Filipino ring superstar Manny Pacquiao immediately kicked off his rigorous training regimen for his rematch with Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera yesterday at the newly-refurbished Rex Wakee Salud Gym in Brgy. Punta Princesa, this city.
Para iba naman (for a change), was Pacquiaos quick answer when asked why he opted to train in Cebu and not at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, California which he usually does every time he prepares for a big fight.
Some quarters criticized Pacquiao for cutting his US training to return to the Philippines, but Pacman said his main purpose of going there was to promote his return bout with Barrera set on October 6 at the Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Plano namin na dito talaga mag-start ng training sa Pilipinas. Hindi lang namin sinabi kaya nagtaka ang lahat (Its really our plan to start training in the Philippines. We just kept it a secret that is why everyone is surprised), Pacquiao said.
Although he considers training in his hometown in General Santos City and in Baguio, Pacquiao eventually decided to train at the world-class sweat shop of his confidant and well-known Cebuano promoter Rex Wakee Salud.
Etong gym ni Wakee bago at maganda pagkagawa kaya gusto kung mag-training dito (The gym of Wakee is new and beautiful that is why I like to train here), said Pacquiao.
Saka marami na ring tao sa Wild Card. Di natin alam na baka mga mga tao doon na galing sa kampo ni Barerra at ma-estudyohan yung istilo ko (Also, Wild Card Gym is too crowded. We dont know if there are people there who are from the Barrera camp and they will study my style), added Pacquiao.
Pacquiao said he will train at the RWS Gym for one month and then leave for the US in the first week of September to put up the final phase of his preparations at the Wild Card Gym.
Pacquiao, on the other hand, brushed away speculations that he had a misunderstanding with his highly-esteemed trainer Freddie Roach.
Wala lang seguro maisip ang mga nagsulat ng ganon. Wala laming alitan ni coach Freddie (Maybe those who write about it has no other things in mind. I dont have a problem with coach Freddie), said Pacquiao, who even confirmed that Roach will be arriving in Cebu this morning bringing along with him two Mexican sparring partners that both weighs 145 pounds.
On the belief of some pundits that its already too late for him to start training for a significant bout, the 28-year-old Pacquiao just laughed at it.
Hindi naman seguro masyadong late dahil nag-start ako ng training two months before the fight. Baka mapareho tayo nga ibang boxer diyan na na-over train pagdating sa fight hindi na makasuntok (I think its not too late because I trained two months before the right. I dont want to be like other boxers who overtrained and when the fight comes they cant throw solid punches anymore), said Pacquiao.
Regarding his fight plan against Barrera, Pacquiao doesnt predict a repeat performance of their first encounter saying he expect the fight to go 12 rounds.
Lumaban tayo hanggang sa 12 rounds. Mahirap na magyabang. Gawin lang ko lahat ng aking makaaya para manalo at makapagbigay ng karangalan sa bayan (I will fight until 12 rounds. I dont want to appear being boastful. I will just give my best to bring honor to our country.), said Pacquiao.
Sa lahat ng mga Cebuano, salamat sa inyong suporta at sa mainit ninyong pagtanggap na dito ako mag-train (To all the Cebuanos, thank you for your support and for warm reception that I will train here),said Pacquiao.
Pacquiao came as the heavy underdog but went on to pull off one of the stunning upsets in boxing history when he scored a brutal 11th round destruction of Barrera on November 16, 2003 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
[size=+2]
sapatos yan, hindi trophy
[size=+1](Team [/size][size=+1]Back[/size] [size=+1]Spasms)[/size]
[/size]
